Is This What Jesus Would Do?

Is This What Jesus Would Do?

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The CNN Belief Blog ran an article over the weekend about U.S. Archbishops living lives of grandeur in huge, million $ plus estates whilst their flocks struggle to put food on the family table.
Governor Markell on NPR Talking About Common Core

Governor Markell on NPR Talking About Common Core

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Yesterday morning, I heard the Governor on NPR in a quick (4 minutes) interview on Common Core and the fact that there is some movement in a few states to disown the curriculum/process/name. I can't really tell what is being walked away from really. But it looks like Governor Markell is not expecting the standards to go away entirely, just the name:
SIMON: So if a lot of states pull out of the Common Core, is there really a Common Core? MARKELL: Well, it depends what they replace it with. I mean, I think a lot of states, you know, who are talking about getting rid of the Common Core are quite likely to replace it with something that looks quite similar. If they call it something else, that's up to them. If they want to, you know, tweak the standards somewhat, that's up to them as well. I can tell you, in Delaware we're going forward because we really think it makes the most sense for our students.
Brenda Mayrack Lures ‘Bulo Out of the Shadows

Brenda Mayrack Lures ‘Bulo Out of the Shadows

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Other than doing door-to-door with Bryan Townsend and hosting Mitch Crane at the Arden Fair, I've not been out front in actively campaigning for political candidates since I took my leave of the Delaware General Assembly. Brenda Mayrack has changed that. To the extent that I'll be on her Host Committee for this upcoming event:
Darley House Meet & Greet Thursday, August 7, 2014 | 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Darley House (Corner of Philadelphia Pike & Darley Road) 3701 Philadelphia Pike | Claymont, DE 19703 Additional parking available next door at the Church of the Ascension. Buy your tickets now. Friend: $30 | Supporter: $75 | Host: $100
That's right. As a host, I'm ponying up $100. Why? Because, for all intents and purposes, we haven't had an auditor, let alone a competent auditor, for however long Tom "Suspendered Disbelief" Wagner has been in office. I've argued on this blog for years that we really need a competent auditor. A competent auditor can and will save the state lots of dollars. It's not even mostly about waste, fraud, and abuse, it's about working with agencies to save the state money while not cutting services.
The Wilmington City Council Clown Show, Part Whatever

The Wilmington City Council Clown Show, Part Whatever

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The effort to start getting Wilmington’s long-term budget problem under control had a major setback last night when they failed to override the Mayor’s veto of an ordinance that defunded 8 vacant WFD positions. Sherry Dorsey-Walker, Trippi Congo, Bob Williams, Justin Wright and Sam Prado were cravenly joined at the last minute by Darius Brown, who apparently thought that since this vote might lose, he should get off of the reform train.
“Can’t Anybody Here Play This Game?”: Chapter, Oh, 1,000,000 and Something.

“Can’t Anybody Here Play This Game?”: Chapter, Oh, 1,000,000 and Something.

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Wilmington City Council pays $1000 so that Councilman Mike Brown can fly back from Florida on the city's dime to cast the deciding vote to override the Mayor's veto of cuts to the Fire Department budget only to come up...TWO  VOTES SHORT. Oh, and for reasons that not even Mike Brown can explain, he lied about where he was vacationing. Why? I have no idea. Apparently, neither does he. From Amy Cherry's WDEL story (watch and listen)...
Far Right Rethuglican Organization Endorses…Dave Tackett!!??

Far Right Rethuglican Organization Endorses…Dave Tackett!!??

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This is truth, not fiction. The Delaware Chapter of the Faith & Freedom Coalition has endorsed putative Democrat Dave Tackett in the Democratic Primary against State Sen. Bryan Townsend.  Tackett was endorsed along with a bunch of R's. The Faith & Freedom Coalition is the home for the usual suspect right-wing nut jobs. Ralph Reed is the founder and chairman. Their endorsers include Sarah Palin, Sean Hannity, Newt Gingrich, Marco Rubio, the Christian Broadcasting Network, Donald Trump, Michele Bachmann, and Ted Cruz, among many others. This group, this group, has decided to endorse Dave Tackett.   For those who doubt me, here is the press release....

A Republican for the 9th? [Updated with my call with Speaker Schwartzkopf, and responses from Andye Daley]

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State Representative Rebecca Walker (D) has represented this district for four years, first elected in 2010. She has risen quickly in the committee structure of the House, chairing the House Judiciary Committee (and thus bottling up some more progressive legislation like death penalty repeal) in the last term. She has a reputation for being overly cautious politically (like not going for her rematch against the forever vulnerable former Republican Majority Leader Dick Cathcart in 2010, to whom she lost in 2008, until Cathcart dropped out) and not being an overly good campaigner. This year, while some of us expected her to retire and not run, she surprised us and refiled to run. And then, two days after the filing deadline, she announced she was withdrawing and not running for reelection. The reason she did this was to not allow the voters in her district any control or any voice over who their nominee was going to be. For you see, after the primary filing deadline passed on July 8, the RD Committee for the district gets to decide who the nominee is, usually under severe pressure from higherups in the party. Well, that is what is happening. The candidate being pushed directly by Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf is Jason Horitz.
Why Would Anyone Shoot Down a Malaysian Airline Plane over Ukraine?

Why Would Anyone Shoot Down a Malaysian Airline Plane over Ukraine?

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Seriously, I was astonished and sick when I heard that this plane disappeared from radar, then heard it was shot down. The pictures are horrific and while the Ukrainians and the Russians have rushed to say they were not responsible, someone shot down that plane. There's not much anyone knows at this point, but why would anyone shoot down this plane? Tell me what you think in the comments.
Markell to Children: Drop Dead

Markell to Children: Drop Dead

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Don't look for gimlet-eyed Jack Markell to lift a finger to assist in the humanitarian crisis at the nation's borders.  Delaware Gov. Markell turned down a request from The US Department of Health & Social Services to even consider making any state resources available to stem the humanitarian crisis. He blames congressional 'dithering'. As if the kids placed in the middle of this crisis can do anything to overcome congressional dithering. From today's News-Journal story:
Markell, who is among a number of the nation’s governors who fielded federal requests for help, said there are no state facilities available that could properly accommodate the children while they await immigration hearings. But he said some Delaware faith-based organizations might be in a position to offer assistance. “I don’t really see the possibility of any state facilities housing these kids,” Markell said Monday. “I don’t think that exists. If private organizations choose to do so, that’ll be up to them.”
So, Corporations Think They’re People?

So, Corporations Think They’re People?

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The Hobby Lobby case gave us yet another reminder that corporations are pushing for full recognition as people; in this case a person with a particular religious belief. The Supremes seem totally hell bent on actualizing this fiction which historically started with a very mistaken decision based on an event decades ago in a area where I went to college, Santa Clara, California.