Search Results for 'marijuana'
Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tues., April 21, 2015
Something quite remarkable has happened over the past six months. So much so that I doubt that those most responsible for it even recognize what they’ve accomplished.
There is an emerging recognition that the state’s education policy is an unmitigated disaster that will, I believe, almost inevitably have to be reversed or, at least, deep-sixed.
An education policy that began with Jack Markell deciding to go all-in and do whatever it took to get that Race To the Top money.
Students, teachers, and parents have become victims of the Common Corporate Curriculum, and the only beneficiaries have been corporations peddling snake oil in the form of tests and texts, and the oversized education bureaucracy that Race To the Top funded. If the bureaucracy was a burger joint, it’d be called ‘240 Fat Guys’. The governor’s legacy on this issue is already sunk, but he can’t/won’t admit the inevitable. It is, after all, his legacy. Which is why legislators and emerging policy leaders are taking up the slack. First step is to make sure that the governor does no more harm before he exits. Now, if only Mike Matthews and Pandora would run for the General Assembly…
Before we refocus our attention from the Governor to the General Assembly, can someone explain to me why…four years after Markell signed the legislation, we still don’t have a single medical marijuana dispensary up and running in Delaware? This quote from Jonathan Starkey’s News-Journal article says it best:
“Why did he (Markell) sign the bill if he had no intentions of enacting it?”
Why, indeed. Incompetence or ideology? You decide.
BTW, today’s Al Show will be a Very Special Primal Scream Therapy Edition. So much bad stuff, so little time (10-12 noon). Now on 101.7 FM, as well as the traditional 1150 AM. Or, you can just tune in here.
Wednesday Open Thread [4.8.15]
![Wednesday Open Thread [4.8.15]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Open.Thread.Orange-240x180.png "Wednesday Open Thread [4.8.15]")
Pew Research did some … well research into the political leanings of our country and guess what? We are a center left nation. Dare I say it? A liberal nation. Pew Research found that more demographic groups lean Democratic than Republican, and more Americans lean towards supporting Democrats.
We also reveal inside that Rand Paul is not a libertarian, he just plays one on TV. And we learn that “Benjamin Netanyahu” is Hebrew for “George W. Bush.”
Baumbach’s Death with Dignity Bill is not even filed yet, and already there is opposition
….from the Medical Society of Delaware. Though that is not unexpected. The proposed legislation would likely allow assisted suicide only in cases where a patient has been told by their doctor that they have a short time to live, like six months or less. The legislation would provide that only the patient is authorized to make this decision, and a family member and the doctor would be required to witness the procedure. This, along with Marijuana Legalization, are the next big socially progressive / socially libertarian reforms to be considered by society, and by extension, the General Assembly.
Not Gonna Do It
Governor Jack Markell just did his best impression of Dana Carvey’s impression of the elder President Bush. He said “not gonna do it.” Well, actually he said “not going to happen.” But my way is better. The ‘it’ is the legalization of marijuana while he serves as Governor.
Vote Tracker for February 4, 2015
We are starting to get some serious legislation now. Rep. Helene Keeley’s Marijuana Decriminalization Bill was introduced last week. As HB 39, the purpose of the bill is to decriminalize the possession or private use of a personal use quantity of marijuana, or more specifically, persons who possess one ounce or less of marijuana shall be assessed a civil penalty that will not become part of a criminal record and must forfeit the marijuana. These persons will also not be subject to incarceration. In other words, you will get something similar to a traffic ticket. Section 2 of the bill treats public use or consumption of an ounce of marijuana or less shall be considered an unclassified misdemeanor punishable by a $200 fine or imprisonment of not more than 5 days, which is in line with the penalty for possession or consumption of an open container of alcohol. Current laws make possessing one ounce or less of marijuana in the First State a misdemeanor punishable by up to three months in jail, a criminal fine of up to $575, or both.
Republicans have also introduced their Estate Tax Repeal. Currently, the Delaware Estate Tax only applies to estates worth more than $5.43 million. So let’s all be honest and call this bill the Making the Rich Richer Bill.
Delaware General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up: January 27-29, 2015.
As a would-be oligarch, Jack Markell introduced a proposed budget that will make him a welcome guest at Chateau Country’s finest soirees. As a putative Democrat, his budget is disgraceful and indefensible. Guess whose taxes will increase? Seniors who get a modest tax break on their homes. That’s it. You know why that break was implemented in the first place? To make seniors less likely to oppose public school referenda due to the impact it would have on their fixed incomes. For Markell, it’s a two-fer: Screw seniors on a fixed income and make it harder for public school districts to raise funds. BTW, it’s time we face reality. We really are an oligarchy and not a democracy. Take some time to read this, and then come back.
Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: January 27-29, 2015
I would first like to thank the meteorologists for making this article necessary. Was this the new ‘faith-based’ meteorology? Rest assured I won’t be watching the insipid smile-meisters on the Weather Channel to find out what went wrong with their model. Don’t have the time. (Personal to Al Roker: Eat something, willya? The human shar pei look is disconcerting.)
I’m now assuming the General Assembly will meet today, so you’re gonna get the Full Monty weekly preview. The last preview before the six-week break for meetings of the Joint Finance Committee meetings. Which reminds me, the Governor will submit his proposed budget later this week, which, of course, plays a central role in the work of the JFC.
Saturday Open Thread [1.24.15]
![Saturday Open Thread [1.24.15]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7484/15457615324_183ef8d1f7_o.png "Saturday Open Thread [1.24.15]")
Douthat imagines how the left and right will respond to the president:
[Obama’s] influence over Clinton’s campaign will depend on economic trends and foreign policy developments as well as her own choices: If he’s climbed to a 47-48 percent approval rating by early 2016, I wouldn’t expect there to be any daylight between his agenda and her platform; if he falls back toward 40 percent (or drops below) amid some unlooked-for crisis, then no presidential speech is likely to constrain Hillary from trying to charting a more post-Obama course.
Meanwhile, the future relevance of his stab at a middle class agenda will be determined in part by whatever the G.O.P. comes up with for its post-Obama blueprint. If you contrast what was on offer last night with some of the ideas that, say, Utah Senator Mike Lee has proposed, there’s a very interesting right-left debate to be had around higher education reform, tax reform (family-friendly and otherwise), and other issues as well. But maybe the eventual Republican nominee will have a very different game plan, and the big clashes will end up happening elsewhere. Or maybe the mere fact that Obama has touched these issues will prompt the right to retreat to “safer” (that is, staler) ground.
Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Week of Jan. 20-23, 2015
While the General Assembly awaits Governor Markell’s State of the State address this Thursday, we already know what won’t be in the governor’s speech: There will be no proposed income tax increase; there will be no proposed gas tax increase. We know that Jack’s millionaire buds have convinced him that they would suffer if they had to pay even a penny more to fund government. So, Jack has already announced that he won’t be asking the wealthy to sacrifice. And, in a gesture that is, um, ungubernatorial, Markell has whined that, since the General Assembly turned its collective noses up at his gas tax proposal last year, he won’t propose anything to close the gap in the state’s infrastructure budget. He’ll just wait for the General Assembly to come up with…something. If only he’d take that approach with public education. His legacy grows more undistinguished by the day.
Perhaps this is the week that Alex Pires gets his customized banking legislation passed. If not, then next week will be the week It’s already passed the House unanimously. As Nancy Willing pointed out, this bill was introduced at the behest of Alex Pires, and it will only benefit Pires’ bank. The article further points out that this may not be the first time that Pires has had undue influence on the General Assembly. Let me point out the obvious: If you or I were disadvantaged by some ‘arcane’ statute, do you think we could get the Speaker to sponsor it, fast-track it, and get it through the General Assembly within a week or two? And just because the Bank Commissioner, who largely does the bidding of the banks, says it’s ‘arcane’, is it really arcane? Or is it just an impediment to a connected businessman who doesn’t want to wait in line and rarely does? Whether the bill deserves passage on its merits is hardly the point. The point is that representative government does not represent most of us. But it DOES represent people with lots of clout, regardless of how they accumulated it. Which is why Alex Pires will get his banking bill.
Illicit Drugs: Half of America Belongs in Prison
According to research by The Drug Policy Alliance, half of Americans have been in possession of illegal drugs at least once in their lifetime.
The 62 Project: Not Better Late Than Never. But It’s Finished. Just In Time To Change It.
I was planning to finish this in time for…well, some time before now. However, sloth and other events intervened. So here we have it, 1-62, for each and every member of the 147th Delaware General Assembly, based on their careers, not just the past session. For those I previously profiled, you can click on the links. For the rest, the floor is open for questions and vitriol.
1. Sen. Karen Peterson: A fierce negotiator/advocate who successfully leverages her bargaining power to pass progressive legislation. Imagine that. Accruing power not for personal ambition, but to pass a progressive agenda. An easy choice for #1.
2. Rep. Mike Barbieri: Quietly does outstanding work on kids’ issues, and has helped turn back the neanderthal mandatory sentencing excesses of the Sharp/Smith/Vaughn/Brady years. He’s impressed me from Day 1. A thinker and a doer. We need more social workers in the General Assembly.
3. Sen. Bob Marshall: Has gotten better and more effective as he’s gotten older. He serves as perhaps the leading Democrat from the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party in challenging Jack Markell’s DINO-ism. He’s got at least one more minimum wage increase in him.
4. Rep. Melanie George Smith: Her work, along with Barbieri and others, on sentencing reform, was legislating at its best. It wasn’t easy, it required a tremendous attention to detail, plus political smarts. Forget her political roots, focus on her legislative skills.
5. Sen. Dave Sokola: Anyone who thinks it was easy for a legislator from the Pike Creek/Hockessin area to support progressive reform wasn’t around when he got elected. That’s what he did and that’s what he does. And, while he gets criticism from some of our education people, he stood up to the ‘forced busing’ bashers, including his own Pro-Tem, Tom Sharp. His sponsorship of civil unions reflects the kind of person he is.
Thursday Open Thread [11.20.14]
“Rising Republican hostility toward President Obama’s impending immigration plan is as intense as has ever existed between the White House and the GOP,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“But the strong reaction by Republican leaders has less to do with opposition to the nuts and bolts of the president’s immigration policy and more to do with fear and anger that the issue will derail the agenda of the new Republican majority before the next Congress even convenes. Republican leaders who had hoped to focus on corporate tax reform, fast-track trade pacts, repealing the president’s healthcare law and loosening environmental restrictions on coal are instead being dragged into an immigration skirmish that they’ve tried studiously to avoid for most of the last year.”
I imagine that was the plan. And Republicans are too bigoted and dumb enough to fall for it. Indeed, this whole fucking immigration mess is due to their unabashed racism on the part of the GOP. All they had to do is pass the Senate plan, which was a compromise with Senate Republicans that provide much increased (and wasteful) border security. And this issue would be over with and the GOP would be back to wooing the Latino vote. Instead, they are going to freak the fuck out and let the racist flag fly proudly, and they are going to lose Latinos for multiple centuries. For the President’s part, it is always golden when the right thing to do syncs up with the politically right thing to do.
Monday Open Thread [11.3.14] — MY PREDICTIONS for tomorrow.
![Monday Open Thread [11.3.14] — MY PREDICTIONS for tomorrow.](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/My.Predictions-240x180.png "Monday Open Thread [11.3.14] — MY PREDICTIONS for tomorrow.")
If you had told Republicans a couple of months ago that they would win Montana, South Dakota, West Virginia, Louisiana and Arkansas, all the while defending Kentucky, which at the time was the only competitive GOP-held seat, they would have been ecstatic. All they would need is just one more seat to win the majority of 51 from the following Democratic competitive seats: Alaska, Iowa, Colorado or North Carolina. The GOP would bet that they would win at least one of them, most likely Alaska.
I predict that the GOP will win none of them. And they will lose two of their own seats: Georgia and Kansas. That means, in the end, the Democrats will have 52 seats (51 without the Independent Orman) and the GOP will have 48. I could be completely wrong, and the GOP could win 8 seats. But I am not sensing the deep malaise and depression amongst the Democratic electorate that preceded the 2010 blowout.
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