Tag: Steve Tanzer Delaware
Can We Talk About Pedophilia?
No, not the act of abusing children and/or engaging in inappropriate behavior with them. Such activities are criminal and should be subject to the strongest enforcement the justice system can bring.
I’m talking about adult attraction to children which never rises to the level of physical contact, but which may include viewing images that we find abhorrent, and may cause acute mental anguish for those with this condition.
A thought-provoking piece in Sunday’s New York Times argues that pedophilia is a mental illness and makes an effective argument that we’re treating it improperly. Read the whole thing before reacting reflexively. Here are some salient excerpts from Prof. Margo Kaplan‘s op-ed:
El Somnambulo Predicts ‘Em All For You
This column will self-destruct sometime around 9 p.m. next Tuesday. Or perhaps Saturday, according to Dave Tackett’s latest mailer (seriously, he has the wrong day for the primary on his mailer.) Time to pick the primary winners (and losers).
State Senator-SD 11 (D): Even with pretty good name recognition, it’s hard to win a D primary against a popular incumbent when your ideological base resides within a right-wing evangelical church. Bryan Townsend gives Dave Tackett a well-deserved whooping, I mean whoooping, 62-38. (Memo to Dave: Next time, try Spell Check. Despite what it says on your latest piece, there are only two o’s in ‘trooper’, not three. Oh, and political mailers should have a disclaimer as to who paid for them. You’re welcome.)
Delaware Political Weekly, Or An Approximation Thereof: August 16-22, 2014
This article got lost in the Chip Flowers Implosion, Version 4.0, but it shouldn’t have. House D’s facing primary challenges sending out thinly-veiled campaign lit on the public’s dime. A practice that was discontinued under Speaker Gilligan (Terry Spence was the Godfather of this practice), but reinstated by Speaker Schwartzkopf just in time for the primaries. Now here’s the rest of the story. Complaints regarding this practice were filed with Elaine Manlove of the State Department of Elections. She determined that she had no legal jurisdiction over the complaints, that they did not technically violate state law, and referred them to…The House Ethics Committee. Did I mention that the House Ethics Committee is chaired by Valerie Longhurst, one of the two legislators who it’s been confirmed have sent out these mailers on the taxpayers’ dime? Now, that’s the Delaware Way.
House Incumbents Spending Taxpayer $$’s To Fend Off Primary Challengers?
It sure looks that way. Both Valerie Longhurst and Dennis E. Williams have sent out official House correspondence to their districts that are little more than taxpayer-funded campaign pieces. There may well be others who have done the same.
The supposed deniability comes in that these are allegedly legislative updates to constituents. They are sent on their personal House letterhead, in House envelopes, and likely through state mail. And they are prepared in-house by state employees on state time. They tout the alleged accomplishments of the legislators, and, as campaign pieces are prone to do, try to mislead voters on issues where the incumbents are vulnerable. Oh, and so far, they’ve only been sent out by incumbent House members facing primaries.
When I worked in the Senate, we were forbidden from doing this. During the brief time that I worked for the House, then-Speaker Terry Spence allowed us to send such mailings. Of course, it’s likely not coincidence that this policy was set during the election season that the Rethugs were desperately trying to hold onto their majority, and if they did it, he had to let us do it. Truth be told, most of July and August were spent on preparing and sending these mailings.
Only one person can authorize such mailings: The Speaker of the House. It’s likely legal, as the General Assembly routinely exempts itself from laws that apply to everyone else. In fact, apparently it’s technically legal to send out these sorts of mailings up to 35 days prior to an election. But I submit that it’s a wasteful misuse of taxpayer funds.
Brenda Mayrack Lures ‘Bulo Out of the Shadows
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 19703Additional 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.
“Can’t Anybody Here Play This Game?”: Chapter, Oh, 1,000,000 and Something.
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)…
Carney Sides With Pesticide Polluters
To be fair, he hadn’t cast any real egregious votes for a few weeks now. That has changed. Carney sided with pesticide polluters who don’t even want to get a permit to spray in waterways. This despite the fact that there had not been a single complaint from a single state or provider urging a […]
Far Right Rethuglican Organization Endorses…Dave Tackett!!??
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….
Sen. Colin Bonini Diverts State Bond Funds to Private Religious Institution
We all know Colin Bonini. The Senator who votes against the Budget pretty much every year and publicly scolds the General Assembly for failing to make the ‘tough choices’. Meaning failing to shred the social safety net while cutting taxes and screwing unions. This self-same Colin Bonini sits on the Bond Bill Committee. A superb […]
Delaware Political Weekly: July 12-18, 2014
The Democratic Party endorses neither candidate for the State Treasurer primary. Kremlinologists no doubt will enjoy parsing the following sentence:
Given the Committee’s perception of quality both Democratic Treasurer candidates possess, the committee failed to reach consensus on the endorsement of either candidate.
Might I suggest that this is one endorsement that neither candidate really wanted? How could Chip run as the anti-establishment candidate if the establishment endorsed him, and how could Barney run as someone not beholden to the Carpers and Carneys of this world if he got the endorsement? My vote will ultimately come down to this: What can we least afford? A self-delusional narcissist who has had his hands effectively tied, or the next Carper or Carney?
Markell to Children: Drop Dead
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.”
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