Archive for December, 2013
Honoring the 2013 MVP’s (Most Valuable to the Progressive Cause)
One of the people in the picture to the left is the MVP this year. There were several worthy contenders who just missed the list this year. Superior legislators like Melanie George Smith and Michael Barbieri deserve consideration every year. Ed Osienski is fast approaching that status. Helene Keeley and Kim Williams were on my list at one time or another during my deliberations.
2013 was a great year for social justice in Delaware. Economic justice, not so much. However, I am encouraged that at least three strong voices for progressive principles joined the General Assembly this year, and a couple of Leg Hall vets found their voices as well. The progressive grassroots became more effective this year, and helped ensure historic victories that would not have happened without their support. Marriage equality, transgender equality, and justice for manufactured home owners, being among them.
The most notable omission from my list, and I struggled with it, is Governor Jack Markell. His role in hastening civil rights for the LGBT community will most assuredly be his lasting positive legacy. But, his actions in slowing the passage of minimum wage; his continued pushing for corporate education solutions and favoring charter schools; his granting of a tax cut for Delaware’s wealthiest citizens; his almost-disastrous actions concerning the Port of Wilmington; and several others, led me to omit him from the list. At best, the good and the bad canceled each other out. And, no, you don’t have to take the bad with the good. Or at least you shouldn’t accept it. I don’t.
Now to the list….
2013: Our Year in Numbers and Our Most Popular Posts of the Year
One thing is made clear from this list of our most popular posts: Chip Flowers is good for business. Posts about him and his travails this year were among our most popular, most likely because he has some fervent fans who waste no time coming here to defend him, and fervent detractors who likewise come here to pile on whenever we put a post up on him. The Flowers scandal and the Marriage Equality victory clearly were the political stories of the year here.
But before we get to the list, let’s over some numbers. We also had our busiest day in the history of Delaware Liberal this year. Now, usually, our busy years and busy days are relegated to election years and specifically, Election Days and Nights. For example, we had 1,001,363 unique visits to our site in 2010, the midterm election year, and 1,333,982 unique visits in 2012, a presidential election year. This year, it looks like we are going to be well short of that high mark, with 883,537 as of this writing. But that is still higher than the past similar off year, 2011, when we had 791,519. So the site continues to grow. But I digress. I started off talking about our busiest day, which was, before this year, September 10, 2010, the night Christine O’Donnell upset Mike Castle in the GOP primary. But the witch got dethroned this year by the passage of the Marriage Equality law. That is sweet and poetic justice. So May 7, 2013 is now our reigning champion for busiest day, a day when we got 18,942 unique visits.
Republicans Become Dumber – Is That Possible?
Yep, it’s possible.
Belief in evolution among Republicans has dropped more than 10 percentage points since 2009, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center.
Pew found that 43 percent of Republicans said they believed humans and other living beings had evolved over time, down from 54 percent in 2009. More (48 percent) said they believed all living things have existed in their present form since the beginning of time.
Oh my, that’s embarrassing. Guess all this talk of the importance of STEM classes doesn’t resonate with the GOP. Science, technology, engineering and math are obviously not Jesus approved. Good luck with that.
Monday Open Thread [12.30.13]
2013 was a brutal year for me personally, and for our nation. Tomorrow, I am going to kick this year in the ass as it heads out the door. But Andrew Sullivan, while taking note of the horror of 2013, looks on some of the bright side of the year that was. And Eugene Robinson discusses that how Obamacare, now that it is a reality that is here to stay, is dividing the Republican Party horribly.
Be Here (And There) For 2013 MVP Awards!
Once again, I shall simultaneously announce the 2013 MVP Winners (Delaware’s most valuable to the progressive cause) here at Delaware Liberal and live on the Al Mascitti Show, 10 am to 12 noon on WDEL 1150 AM. This happens on Tuesday, December 31, New Year’s Eve Day. Check out the blog around 10, and either click on your radio or stream live here.
It will be lively, celebratory, and perhaps a bit impertinent. In other words, a perfect early New Year’s Eve celebration.
Corrupt Politics, But No Charges
That is the title of the NJ article that tries to summarize the investigation that resulted in the recent report from special prosecutor E. Norman Veasey. If you are interested, you can also read the entire 101 pages of the report here (pdf). I haven’t finished reading the whole of the document, but here are a few thoughts:
Senator Coons, Too Many Cooks In the Iran Kitchen
Well, maybe living in a Blue state is not all its cracked up to be after all. I now read that Senator Coons has signed onto the Menendez bill with some of the worst the Republican party has to offer to mess with the Iran peace/nuke disarmament recipe.
The Weekly Addresses
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama
Travels with Vice President Biden.
Governor Markell is on vacation and did not have a weekly address this week.
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