Monthly Archives: April 2010

Immigration Reform and Outing A Senator

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to title this post since the subject matter doesn’t exactly flow.  But it seems that the immigration debate has taken a turn…

William Gheen, head of the conservative, anti-“amnesty,” anti-illegal immigration group Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC), spoke at a Greenville, S.C. Tea Party rally this weekend and called for Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to “come out of that log cabin closet.”

According to Gheen, being gay is “a secret that Lindsey Graham has.”

Gheen told the crowd: “I hope this secret isn’t being used as leverage over Senator Graham, so today I think Senator Graham, you need to come forward and tell people about your alternative lifestyle and your homosexuality.”

Oh my.  But Gheen is only concerned about his country, not about Graham’s sexual orientation.  (I crack myself up!)

“US Senator Lindsey Graham is gay and while many people in South Carolina and Washington DC know that, the general public and Graham’s constituents do not,” Gheen said in the statement. Though Gheen claimed, both in the statement and at the Tea Party rally, that he does “not care about Graham’s private life,” he again said that Graham must declare his supposed homsexuality “so the public can rest assured he is not being manipulated with his secret.”

“I need to figure out why you’re trying to sell out your own countrymen and I need to make sure you being gay isn’t it,” Gheen said over the weekend.

You know when I know people are gay?  When they tell me they are gay.

Is The News Journal In The Tank For Castle?

Ron Williams gives a little throwaway item at the end of his column today:

Taking care to take credit

Did I miss something? I thought the governor’s office, not the county executive, was working to restart Valero since it was shut down.

“The deal is a demonstration of what strong Democratic leadership can do for Delaware and is the reason I’m running for the Senate.”

Oh, OK. Why didn’t you just say that? Now I understand.

Really, Ron? You see no role for county officials in bringing business to New Castle County? Jack Markell himself praised Chris Coons’s role in the Valero and Fisker deals, but he would have known that if the NJ had bothered to cover the Chris Coons announcement.

Legislative Post-Game Wrapup/Pre-Game Show-Wed., April 21, 2010

Yesterday was ‘Clean Your Plate’ Day in Dover  as the General Assembly disposed of several bills that had hung around for awhile. Many are now ready for action by the Governor. There is still some broccoli  remaining, but isn’t there always?

The pure political hackiness that is Nancy Cook was on full display as well. The House passed HB 294 as amended by the Senate, sponsored by Brad Bennett. As originally written, the bill would have eliminated three useless row offices in Kent County and turned their functions over to the County Department of Finance. In its final form, the bill eliminates two useless positions, but the third (Comptroller) remains, thanks to Nancy Cook. A waste of $100,000. The News-Journal account of the bill is notable for how carefully Brian Bushweller and Brad Bennett  pull their punches in not blasting Delaware’s Most Powerful Legislator Least Deserving of Power. Why is she powerful? Because she knows that legislators dare not screw her or she’ll screw them during the budgetary process. It’s too bad that no D has stepped forward to primary her. She is almost as vulnerable as Bill Oberle was, and far more deserving of ignominious defeat.

Here is yesterday’s entire legislative activity report.

Perhaps the most notable bill introduced yesterday was  SB 234 (McBride), which establishes universal recycling in Delaware. Lotsa co-sponsors, including many of the ‘good guys’. I wonder why it was introduced so late in session, however. If there’s any opposition, might be tough getting it through both houses by June 30. Another interesting bill, SB 235 (Bushweller), aims to stop rampant abuse of prescription medications and/or the unlawful obtaining and subsequent selling of prescription drugs. Bill could raise some privacy issues, though.

Today is largely given over to committee meetings although the Senate does have an agenda as well. Sen. Henry’s SB 209 seeks to extend Delaware’s Historic Preservation Tax Credit for ten more years. What does it cost? I clicked on the ‘fiscal note’ icon to find out, but, surprisesurprise, the information is not available. Just more information deemed not worthy of being made public, I guess.

Today’s Committee Meeting highlights:

Senate Agriculture Committee-Sen. Simpson’s bill placing all blame for fights between cats and dogs (or, as they say in Sussex County, doags or dogues) on the poor pooches will be considered.

Senate Executive Committee-Just read the committee notice to get a sense of Sen. DeLuca’s ongoing arrogance. Feel better informed now?

Senate Insurance Committee-It’s rant time again! Yesterday I complained about the unwillingness of the General Assembly to require the IC’s office to function with even a minimum of professionalism. The power derived from the universal shrugging of shoulders could’ve operated a wind farm for a month. There’s nothing you can do? HERE’s something you can do! Guess what bill is being considered in the Insurance Committee today…time’s up! HB 314, the very bill that would expand the captive insurance business in Delaware, the very bill that KWS wants desparately, the very bill that would be ‘administered’ by the IC. Sen. Blevins and Rep. B. Short have plenty of power to deliver an ultimatum: You want your bill? THIS is what you must do to get it. It’s that simple. The issue has never been that there’s nothing they can do. It’s whether there’s anything they will do.

Senate Natural Resources/Environmental Committee-Another notice with no notice of what’s being considered.

House Education Committee-A very busy agenda, including Rep. Schooley’s HB 350, which takes affirmative steps to aggressively promote parental involvement in their children’s education.

House Judiciary Committee-In the wake of yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling, I wonder if Rep. George will still have the committee consider HB 346, which would ‘make(s) it illegal to knowingly possess visual depictions of the intentional torture or killing of an animal’.

Here are the complete Senate and House Committee Meeting schedules for today. Join me tomorrow as the, hopefully, the General Assembly adds some meat and potatoes to the leftover broccoli.


What’s Wrong With Arizona?

It’s all about paper in Arizona – Immigration documentation and Birth Certificates.

PHOENIX — The Arizona House on Monday voted for a provision that would require President Barack Obama to show his birth certificate if he hopes to be on the state’s ballot when he runs for reelection. The House voted 31-22 to add the provision to a separate bill. The measure still faces a formal vote.

It would require U.S. presidential candidates who want to appear on the ballot in Arizona to submit documents proving they meet the constitutional requirements to be president.

Phoenix Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema said the bill is one of several measures that are making Arizona “the laughing stock of the nation.”  Mesa Republican Rep. Cecil Ash said he has no reason to doubt Obama’s citizenship but supports the measure because it could help end doubt.

Arizona has gone birther.  Georgia heard testimony from a woman who claims the Department of Defense put a microchip into her vaginal-rectum area.  Ladies and gentlemen, this is the new Republican Party.  And I’m really not sure how you combat crazy at this level.

The New Chicken Barter Economy

I was wrong that Republicans don’t have new ideas! Nevada GOP Senate candidate Sue Lowden thinks health care reform is wrong and she has a better idea:

Sue Lowden, the likely GOP nominee for U.S. Senate in Nevada, has a novel plan for health care reform: haggling with your doctor over prices.

Lowden offered her proposal last Tuesday in Mesquite.

I think that bartering is really good. Those doctors who you pay cash, you can barter, and that would get prices down in a hurry. And I would say go out, go ahead out and pay cash for whatever your medical needs are, and go ahead and barter with your doctor.

Did she really mean barter? Like taking medical services in trade? The answer is yes: she really means barter.

Sue Lowden, the likely Republican nominee against Harry Reid, is doubling down on her widely ridiculed proposal that people should haggle and barter with doctors to bring down prices.

Appearing yesterday on Nevada Newsmakers, Lowden said:

I’m telling you that this works. You know, before we all started having health care, in the olden days our grandparents, they would bring a chicken to the doctor, they would say I’ll paint your house. I mean, that’s the old days of what people would do to get health care with your doctors. Doctors are very sympathetic people. I’m not backing down from that system.

I’m not sure how I’m going survive in this new economy. I don’t have any chickens.

Tornoe’s Toon: Kaufman’s Baton

Ted Kaufman Mike Castle Chris Coons

If you’d like to contact me, feel free to drop me a line at robtornoe@delawareliberal.net. You can also follow me on twitter @RobTornoe.

And make sure you pick up The Community News, The Dover Post, The Middletown Transcript or any of the Dover Post papers throughout the state to check out my cartoons every week.

Since the News Journal Couldn’t Be Bothered to Cover Chris Coons Launch….

Did you notice what was missing from the News Journal today?

Coverage of Chris Coons’ official launch of his Senatorial bid. No wonder they have a hard time getting people to buy this thing. A serious candidate for Senate does the three county tour and the best the NJ can do is show a picture in the dead tree edition. The web has some footage that doesn’t work. So what is going on here? Apparently they can’t quite rouse themselves to even cover the launch of a nationally covered race. So in case you were looking for some serious reporting on Monday’s launch:

The Community News — Coons Makes It Official

WDEL

WHYY

The UD Review

It really is unbelievable that the local newspaper wouldn’t cover this. It isn’t as if Chris Coons is Mike Protack or Rose Izzo for cryin’ out loud. But just to make sure they know what you think about this, you can send the a Letter to the Editor, or call (or email) this guy:

David Ledford
VP News – Exec. Editor
302-324-2860
dledford@delawareonline.com

an ask if if he was too busy counting the dollars he has to send to Gannett HQ to actually cover a Senatorial race.

The Myth of the $50 Billion Bailout Fund

In a stunning display of either a lack of short-term memory or full-blown dementia, Congressional Republicans are taking the exact same losing playbook they used during the health care reform fight and are now applying it to the financial reform battle. Just as they did before, they have all latched on to a memo written by professional liar Frank Luntz, and are using it as their script. Ever wonder why most Republicans sound alike and repeat the same tired phrases? It’s because Frank told them to. The current favorite right-wing distortion has to do with what they refer to as the “$50 Billion Bailout Fund”. Doesn’t sound good does it? Good thing it doesn’t exist, then.

What they’re all talking about is a provision present in Chris Dodd’s financial reform bill.  What it really is is the “orderly liquidation fund”, and here is how Ezra Klein describes it and its function:

A year after the bill is signed, the secretary of the Treasury begins taxing banks based on the risk they pose to the financial system. This tax must raise $50 billion and last for at least five years but no more than 10 years. So first, that’s where the fund comes from: a tax on too-big-to-fail banks, which has the added bonus of giving a slight advantage to smaller banks that won’t be laboring under this tax.

When it comes to saving failing banks, $50 billion isn’t a lot of money. Think of the $700 billion TARP fund. Or even look at the House bill, which has a $150 billion resolution fund. But then, the $50 billion isn’t there to save banks. It’s there to liquidate them.

Here’s the chain of events: A bank is judged failing. The FDIC submits a plan for the bank’s liquidation — which includes firing management, wiping out shareholders, handing losses to creditors, and selling off the firm — and gets it approved by the Treasury secretary. Then the FDIC takes over the banks. The $50 billion fund is used to keep the lights on while all this happens. It’s there to prevent taxpayers from having to foot the bill for the chaos that will occur between when we recognize a bank is failing and when we shut it down.

So, you can call it whatever you want. Call it the Eyjafjallajökull Fund if you want (that should shut Mitch McConnell up). The fact is that it is exactly not a bailout fund. To be clear, a bailout is what happens when a company is propped up, their losses are mitigated, and they are set up to continue on. The fund in question here is designed to do the exact opposite. As Klein states, “[I]t isn’t a bailout. It’s the death of the company. And the fund is way of forcing too-big-to-fail banks to pay for the execution.” Even Tennessee Republican Senator Bob Corker has begun to hit back against this lie.

As with the HCR debate and any others, it’s perfectly OK for different people to have different opinions on the issues. But, like the HCR debate, the Fin-Reg debate has already devolved into the dynamic of one side trying to solve real problems, and the other side distorting the facts in order to avoid a real debate. Of course, if I was in the position of having to defend the Wall Street giants, I probably would want to avoid reality as much as possible, too.

Georgia Legislature Competes With The National Enquirer… And Wins

Via TPM:

The Georgia House Judiciary Committee took up a bill last week that would “prohibit requiring a person to be implanted with a microchip,” and would make violating the ban a misdemeanor. According to a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, one exchange from the hearing could have been ripped right from Dr. Strangelove.

[…]

“Ma’am, did you say you have a microchip?” state Rep. Tom Weldon (R) asked the woman.

“Yes, I do. This microchip was put in my vaginal-rectum area,” she replied.

No one laughed. State Rep. Wendell Willard (R), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, asked her who had implanted the chip.

“The Department of Defense,” she said.

Willard thanked the woman for her input, and the committee later approved the bill.

Oh my.

Where’s The Teabagger Army?

Arizona just passed a bill making it mandatory that you have your papers with you in the state:

The bill, known as SB 1070, makes it a misdemeanor to lack proper immigration paperwork in Arizona. It also requires police officers, if they form a “reasonable suspicion” that someone is an illegal immigrant, to determine the person’s immigration status.

Currently, officers can inquire about someone’s immigration status only if the person is a suspect in another crime. The bill allows officers to avoid the immigration issue if it would be impractical or hinder another investigation

So, what constitutes a “reasonable suspicion?” Would talking with a Hispanic accent be considered reasonable?

So, when are we going to see a teabagger protest of this law? Police and Sheriffs have now been turned into Federal Immigration agents. You could now be arrested just because the police officer doesn’t like you and you don’t have your birth certificate (note: most drivers’ licenses don’t have immigration information on them).

So, are we going to see a teabagger army protesting this loss of freedom? They can also prove their bipartisanship, since the bill was sponsored by Republicans and will be signed by a Republican governor.

Tuesday Open Thread

It’s time again for our daily weekday ritual, the open thread. I hope you have plenty to talk about.

The perception of the U.S. in world has risen sharply again, for the second year in a row:

For the first time since the annual poll began in 2005, America’s influence in the world is now seen as more positive than negative.

The improved scores for the US coincided with Barack Obama becoming president, a BBC correspondent notes.

…

“People around the world today view the United States more positively than at any time since the second Iraq war,” said Doug Miller, chairman of international polling firm GlobeScan, which carried out the poll with the Program on International Policy Attitudes (Pipa) at the University of Maryland.

“While still well below that of countries like Germany and the UK, the global standing of the US is clearly on the rise again.”

The increased standing in the world has already led to some foreign policy breakthroughs like the new START treaty with Russia and with agreements with Ukraine and Canada to transfer their highly-enriched uranium to the U.S. There’s also been progress with Russia on the issue of Iran sanctions.

This is just so hilarious, I don’t know why people would take this the wrong way:

Therefore, we must repeal the 19th Amendment. Yes, the one granting suffrage to women. Because? Well, women are biased.

Just look at the poll results in today’s newspaper.

Men favored the attractive former beauty queen Sue Lowden over the graying Harry Reid by 22 points, while women shunned their gender mate, choosing Reid by a 2-point margin. Which proves women favor Democrats.

Obviously, because what men think is automatically correct, logical and unbiased and if you disagree it’s because you’re illogical and driven by emotion.

Of course, when called on his column, Thomas Mitchell said he was just kidding can’t you women take a joke?

I baited the hook and dropped it in the water. It was swallowed hook, line and sinker, rod and reel, up to the elbow, in a piranha-like feeding frenzy.

All I did was pen a bit of light extemporanea for this blog on the statistically demonstrable differences between the sexes when it comes to matters political. OK, I might’ve thrown a little chum in the water by flippantly suggesting the repeal of the 19th Amendment, the one granting suffrage to women. It was just a bit of free hyperbole.

The reaction was painfully predictable, swift and voluble. With a boarding house reach, umbrage was taken.

They bit on the Larry Summers lure.

Mitchell just proves there’s at least three things conservative writers don’t do well: logic, humor or satire.

Legislative Pre-Game Show Plus Rant: Tuesday, April 20, 2010

OK, folks, it’s rant time. The obligatory and halfhearted hearing into the Insurance Commissioner’s office can only be described as pathetic.

Based on published reports and what was reported at DL, there appeared to have been next-to-no preparation by the respective committee members. Little in the way of followup questions. And the weak post-hearing handwringing that the General Assembly really can’t do much because the IC’s office is a constitutionally-separate office.

Bullshit. There is absolutely no reason why The General Assembly can’t craft legislation to, for example, require the IC’s office to comply with contractual and procurement laws. None. How do you think the IC’s office got its powers in the first place? That’s right, by a little something called laws created by lawmakers, aka legislators. Every year, the IC’s office brings its own legislative agenda to the General Assembly. There is no reason why the General Assembly can’t or shouldn’t enact an agenda designed to ensure that the IC’s office works on behalf of the people, not just the insurance companies.

Well, actually, there is a reason. One incentive for seeking chairmanships of committees ‘regulating’ banking and insurance is to ‘insure’ that you can build hefty war chests. For example, those of you who are disappointed in Bryon Short’s performance here should be prepared to be disappointed in the future. He has the ‘aw-shucks’ amiability of Tom Carper circa 1982, a tabula rasa quality upon which those seeking progressivism could project him as a progressive,  and the same empathy for banks and insurance companies as his former employer. This is not surprising as he worked for Carper and emerged fully-formed from the Ed Freel Candidate Factory.  Just remember this: When the opportunity came to stand up for those who have been hurt by the BC/BS preauthorization denials, he threw up his hands and said there was nothing he could do. The chair of the committee. Nothing he can do. One can understand  Monsignor Greg ‘100 Incidents Do Not Constitute a Trend” Lavelle shilling for the plutocrats. But once again, ‘Democrats’ at best turned and ran away from the situation.

In fairness, Short might have been influenced by the Governor’s office, which was likely discomfitted by the fact that preauthorization was about to be peddled as part of its state health care cost savings plans. Fair enough. Tell us again what it means to be a Democrat? When it comes to protecting corporate interests at the expense of consumers, there ain’t a dime’s worth of difference between the two parties.

And Karen Weldin Stewart is still utterly unfit to hold public office. However, nobody but the public will suffer by her reign of incompetence. Certainly not the legislators raking in the banking and insurance bucks.

*Sigh*

Once again, virtually the only bill of interest that could be considered today is Pete Schwartzkopf’s attempt to expand casino gambling in Delaware by at least two casinos. The bill is currently laid on the Speaker’s Table, which means it can be brought up for consideration any time at the request of the sponsor. If Hazel Plant is back in attendance and/or if some negotiations have yielded a compromise, then maybe it will be considered soon. Here is the full House agenda.

At least the House agenda offers us another teaching opportunity. You will notice a ‘Consent Agenda’ consisting of two bills listed. Bills placed on  a consent agenda are generally considered to be noncontroversial bills (in this case, two House bills returning to the House with Senate amendments). An objection by any member of the body automatically removes a bill from the consent agenda.

On to the Senate Agenda. ‘Nuff said.

See ya tomorrow.

Frivolous HCR Lawsuits Hurts Florida AG’s Poll Numbers

The race to replace Florida governor Charlie Crist had been seen as a likely Republican retention. Florida Attorney General Republican Bill McCollum (of Clinton impeachment manager fame) is running against Florida Chief Financial Officer Democrat Alex Sink. McCollum had a comfortable lead and much higher name recognition.

McCollum, along with Attorneys General from other states have filed a lawsuit against the new health care reform law. McCollum is the lead AG in the lawsuit. New poll data shows that the lawsuit is not very popular (and extremely unlikely to win) and is hurting McCollum’s standing with the public.

The poll showed McCollum with 40 percent of support and Sink with 36 percent.

McCollum has been the front runner in the race to replace Gov. Charlie Crist since August but, according to the poll of likely voters conducted April 8-13, he’s not getting much traction among independents with his plan to sue the federal government over its healthcare reform package.

Voters say, 54-40 percent, that it’s a “bad idea” for McCollum to file a lawsuit challenging the plan, and they say, 38-28 percent, that it makes them less likely to support his bid for governor. Among independents — the historically crucial voting group in Florida — the idea is particularly unpopular: 41 percent oppose the lawsuit challenge, while 27 percent support it.

This is the trap that the Democrats have set for the Republicans. Popular reforms will kick in this year and Republicans running on repeal will be running for the return of pre-existing conditions and recission.