Tag: El Somnambulo
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tues., March 26, 2013
Jack Markell: From clammed-up to happy-as-a-clam. The Governor who was unwilling to take a public position on a minimum wage increase effusively praised it after it had passed the Senate:
“I commend Senator Marshall for the changes he made to the bill. I assured Senator Marshall I would sign the bill as passed by the Senate because of the help it will provide to many struggling families,” Markell said in a statement.
Jack Markell has proven time and time again that he cares not for struggling families. But Markell was able to (a) get a cost-of-living provision struck from the bill, (b) get the effective date for the bill pushed back, and (c) lower the amount of the minimum wage to $7.75 an hour in 2014 and $8.25 in 2015. All this in exchange for dropping his threat to veto the bill. Ladies and gentlemen, your Democratic governor. Still, kudos to the 12 D’s who voted yes. It’s better than nothing, which is all you’re gonna get from this governor. For the record, self-professed ‘friend of labor’ Cathy Cloutier voted no. This will not be the last time that she proves to be a phony during this, or any session, of the Delaware General Assembly.
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., March 21, 2013
Wow, where to start? Action everywhere. Here is today’s session activity report (it’s all here).
We’ll start with gun control. HB 35 (Longhurst) cleared the House Judiciary Committee by a 7-4 margin. Democrat Trey Paradee(!) voted against it. Why? It’s the slippery slope to gun registration and Big Brother argument. From today’s News-Journal:
Many opponents of the background check proposal at Wednesday’s hearing said the private-sale-record-keeping provision is a precursor to government gun registration, which could lead to firearms confiscations.
Damn! Where were these folks when what remained of our civil liberties were flushed down the drain in the name of ‘homeland security’? Anyway, it looks like an amendment will address this issue, and I hope and expect that Paradee will vote ‘yes’ when the bill comes to a vote. There no doubt will be other amendments, and some will likely be ‘killer’ (pardon the expression) amendments. Stay vigilant, my friends.
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Wed., March 20, 2013
Doesn’t look like anything got done on Tuesday. Here is the session activity report. Until further notice, consider it a misnomer.
Two huge committee hearings today.
We’ve already talked about the continuation of the hearing on HB 35, which would mandate criminal background checks for almost all gun purchases in Delaware. Starts at 11:30 am in the House Chamber.
The Senate is wasting no time in taking up the death penalty repeal legislation. The Senate Executive Committee will consider SB 19 in the Senate Chamber beginning at 1 pm. And here’s something that’s pretty cool:
Sen. Bryan Townsend, who is a co-sponsor of the bill, will be live tweeting during the hearing. His twitter handle is @BryanTownsendDE, and he will be tweeting with the hashtag #DErepeal. I don’t know what any of that means, but I’m sure virtually everyone else reading this does. (Update from DD: I added the links to Senator Townsend’s twitter page and the DERepeal hashtag for those of us who use Twitter. El Som, your training begins this Saturday. 😉 )
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tues., March 19, 2013
Go ahead. Pick a hot-button issue. Any hot-button issue. This year’s General Assembly is considering it. Can’t remember this many controversial issues under consideration.
Gun control? Check. Gay marriage? Check. Death penalty? Check. Minimum wage? Check. I’m not sure if there’s enough time/political capital to go around.
So. Please allow me to prioritize. To me, there are no excuses for the Delaware General Assembly not passing gun control and minimum wage legislation this year.
The votes are there for minimum wage. Only the Governor’s (a) unwillingness to get on board, and/or (b) the Governor’s opposition to minimum wage stand in the way. Last year, it was (b), and friendly house leadership buried the bill in an unfriendly House committee. This year, the Governor has stated that he’s excited about the debate (Truthometer says? BZZZT), but won’t take a position. Only with Jack Markell could that be considered as progress. Let’s be practical here. Markell’s best chance to stop the bill, and it’s not good, is in the Senate. But, the Senate voted for minimum wage last year and, other than Sen. Venables, I think it’s unlikely that any other D’s will vote no. The margin of support for minimum wage is even larger in the House, so Markell’s only chance there is to get the bill buried in committee.
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., March 14, 2013
Ladies and gentlemen, to the barricades! Or, at least, to your phones, your e-mail, you know the drill.
The Forces of Ee-vil are afoot in Leg Hall. The gun nuts, the Chamber of Commerce shills. Their goal: Stop progressive legislation from passing. For the gun nuts, it’s the backgrounds check on gun purchases. For the Chamber fat-cats, it’s minimum wage. I believe that there is enough legislative support to pass both bills. But it won’t happen unless you contact your legislators, and either let them know that you’ve got their back, or that you expect them to do the right thing.
The background check bill is in House committee. An outpouring of gun nuts prevented the bill from moving out of committee yesterday. So, the committee meets again, next Wednesday, starting at 11:30 a.m. until…whenever all those who wish to speak have spoken. Here’s what you can and should do. Contact your own State Rep and politely tell them that you support HB 35 and ask them to do the same. The odds are that you will speak to a staffer first. These are good people. Be polite and friendly. Make sure that they’ve gotten the message correctly. If you wish to participate in the discussion, either directly or via correspondence, here’s how….
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up: Wed., March 13, 2013
Delaware now has a proposal to eliminate the death penalty for capital crimes. I support it. In the past, I have been an agnostic when it came to the issue of the death penalty. But when I saw Thomas Capano, who carried out one of the most vile and grisly homicides/cover-ups in Delaware history, escape the death penalty (though not death) through legal legerdemain, my decision was made for me. The Tom Capanos of this world don’t get the death penalty. Therefore, those with less influence shouldn’t, either. Any death penalty statute should be administered equally, not on the basis of the (lack of) legal resources that one has at their disposal, IMHO. It’s not, it never has been, and it should go.
I note that police of virtually all stripes have aligned in near-unanimity in opposition. Need I remind you or them that, thanks to DNA projects all over this country, death row inhabitants are being cleared of homicide convictions, often caused by ‘thin blue line’ corruption and/or ineptitude? Yeah, yeah, I know, not in Delaware. Really? How can you be certain?
This is a courageous stand by the sponsors. In case you haven’t noticed, police are a potent political force in this state. Legislators, in general, prefer to take the path of least political resistance. They haven’t done that here, and I thank them. By name: Senators Peterson, Simpson, McDowell, Bushweller, Henry, Sokola, and Townsend; Reps. Scott, Miro, Barbieri, Baumbach, Keeley, Potter, M. Smith, Williams, Kowalko, B. Short. Thank you.
Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Coming off its six-week break for Joint Finance Committee, the Delaware General Assembly begins in earnest its legislative sprint to…Easter break, three weeks hence.
At least, this should prove to be an action-packed three weeks–especially when it comes to the introduction of key bills. Assuming that the Attorney General’s and the Governor’s legal counsel are productive, we could well have the major pieces of the gun control package finalized and introduced. Marriage equality could also surface. We’ll also get a much better sense as to what budgetary issues remain to be resolved.
Plus, we don’t need to wait for some intriguing story lines to develop. Take today, for example. Please. HB 10 (Keeley), which would immediately restore voting rights to convicted felons who have paid their debt to society, is scheduled for floor debate. This is the second leg of a constitutional amendment, meaning that it has already passed both houses of the General Assembly during the preceding legislative session. Should it pass this time, it will become law. I think it will. In fact, the only obstacle that could stand in the way of its passage would be near-unanimous opposition from House R’s. With Republican Rep. Don Blakey a certain yes, I don’t see it happening. And, with Senators Lavelle and Cloutier co-sponsoring the bill, the Senate looks solid as well.
Much much more inside….
2013 Music I Like: Volume I
Home from work with a s-s-s-serious sinus infection. What better time to trot out some tunes you all might wanna hear? Everything is new 2013 music, with one exception.
Has Jack Markell Lost the Trust of the Delaware General Assembly?
I think he indeed is trending in that direction. Which is not good for Jack, the General Assembly, or the people of Delaware. I think I know why, and I have some ideas as to how he can reverse that trend.
Governor Markell has, at least twice in recent months, blindsided legislators by either changing or muddying his position on key issues…..
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thursday, January 24, 2013
Big doin’s, today. BIG doin’s.
Senate Bill 3 is on today’s House Agenda. I’d first like to thank everybody who made this vote possible. From sponsor Sen. Marshall; to Sen. Blevins, who assigned the bill to a favorable committee; to the 11 yes voters in the Senate, to the Speaker, to committee chair Bryon Short, and to everyone who has made consideration of this bill a priority. I’m not sure that this gets done without the blogs, the media, and some damn good public servants.
This bill also demonstrates that elections matter. Think about it. The Senate vote was 11 yes, 9 no, 1 not voting. Had Tony DeLuca been reelected instead of Bryan Townsend (a yes vote), it would have been due in large part to the extraordinary intervention of Governor Markell in that election. Meaning that SB 3 could well have been buried in DeLuca’s Executive Committee, never to see the light of day. If it had somehow made its way to the floor, DeLuca quite possibly would have sided with the Governor, leaving the bill one vote short of passage. Perhaps two, had Nicole Poore not defeated Dori Connor, since not a single R voted for the bill.
Now onto today’s doins…
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Lotsa fascinating (and otherwise) bills introduced last week. Let’s take a look, shall we? You can follow along here, here, and here. For those with limited time, the first here here has the most there there. There there now, it’ll be alright.
First, and least, we have parts of the Rethuglican legislative agenda, courtesy of Rep. Ruth Briggs King. It’s what you’d expect. Opposition to strong automobile emission standards, and two more shots at prevailing wage, HB 6 and HB 7. Thanks for playing. King also tackles the rampant problem of ticket-scalping at the Delaware State Fair. Ticket scalping elsewhere would presumably still be OK. As far as I’m concerned, anybody willing to pay excessive prices for whatever big empty hat country performer the Fair brings in has a right to pay excessive prices. Although it might not leave enough $$’s to pay for a few rounds of ammo, which would be a shame.
Speaker Pete Burying Port Bill?
Signs point to yes. On Wednesday, January 16, the Senate passed Senate Bills 1, 2, and 3: http://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/LAH147.NSF/65d260a8f0fbce13852572360055cafe/f4c55b7e0e893ce785257af600176dee?OpenDocument Senate Bill 1, which pertains to the Bank Franchise tax, was assigned to the House Business Uber Alles Committee, will be considered in committee on Wednesday, and likely voted on by Thursday. Senate Bill 2, which is […]
Double Shot O’ Somnambulo
I’m back on Al’s show today following my truncated appearance (please, no jokes about my truncated appearance) on Tuesday due to the swearing-in ceremony for the Governor and Lieutenant Governor.
We’ll be talking the Port of Wilmington, the Governor’s State of the State, and we will also (if they let me) introduce my new theme song, written by me. (Well, the lyrics, anyway.) Depending on how much time we have, I might even talk some Tom Gordon, Walmart, Lance Armstrong, and maybe even the bizarre story of Manti Teo’s dead fictitious girlfriend.
Today, Thursday, at 10 am on 1150 WDEL-AM Newsradio.
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