Open Thread For June 19, 2017

Filed in Delaware, National by on June 19, 2017

Over 1100 Animals Adopted At Bellevue.  Best wishes to all the adopters and adopted.  What an incredible job by the Brandywine Valley SPCA.  There may not be a cooler event in Delaware all year.

How Trump Used Digital Disinformation (And Russian Bots?) To Win the Election. It could all come tumbling down. Ever heard of Brad Parscale? You will.

For Tax Wonks Only.  How Trump probably didn’t pay $35 mill in taxes in 2005, despite what that one-page from his tax return said.

Trump Abdicates Duty To Provide Civilian Oversight Of Military. He has no idea what to do in Afghanistan, his advisors are split, so why not just toss it to the military?

Attack On Muslims At London Mosque Appears Hate-Related.  Speech has consequences. It now appears to be open season on Muslims.

Rollback Of Coastal Zone Protections On Tomorrow’s House Agenda.  They’re trying to rush it through before July 1.

What do you want to talk about?

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  1. This story courtesy of a tipster. It concerns the dirty dealings at Sussex Tech:

    http://www.wboc.com/story/35684207/old-sussex-tech-lawsuit-has-renewed-significance-plaintiff-says

  2. Paul Hayes says:

    Sussex Tech. I could write a book. If this is the Tom Keeton I know, he is one of the smartest people I have met in Sussex County. Again, if, he is Nationally Board Certified. Now it seems he may have his day in court against the wily, never ethical management of the institution. Tossing out all the LD kids who needed the hands on training, dumping vocational specialties, striving, outside of their mission statement to be a REGIONAL ACADEMIC HIGH SCHOOL serving the entire county and drawing the best and brightest away from their home schools, who do a perfectly adequate job of preparing students for college. (College bound tracks and cadres prepare students to enter college without have to remediate). I could go on and on.

  3. Is former Senator Joe Booth still there, ‘working’ at that job that was created just for him?

  4. Paul Hayes says:

    I don’t know, El. I never worked there.

  5. Paul Hayes says:

    Taxes on vape. A small step that would have been in the right direction were vape anything but a delivery system for nicotine. I have seen and heard ads claiming that vape is championed as a means to quit cigarettes. Bullshit. But if that is how they want to market their product, fine. Make it available only by prescription from a qualified doctor. Minus that, make it illegal to sell vapes. Period. Taxes are needed, but not this way. Don’t enshrine a defective, addicting product in Delaware code. No cover for inherently dangerous and addicting products.

  6. Ben says:

    Just one person’s anecdote, but vaping 100% helped me quit. It takes discipline like any method, but the ability to step-down the amount of nicotine and stick with the behavioral addiction of inhaling something was very helpful. 3 years no cigs, no nicotine anymore and i rarely use the vape, save for CBD oil (legal) in times of stress.
    Again, this is by no means medically or scientifically backed, but it did work.

  7. Ben says:

    I suppose you have the same feelings toward alcohol, caffeine, and sugar right?

  8. Paul Hayes says:

    Ben. I don’t have a problem if you successfully used a vape pen to quit smoking. You support the claim made by the tobacco companies that the vape pen might help people like you. If I had my way, you would still have access to that vape pen to wean you off nicotine. However, you would get it through your doctor, as nicotine should be controlled like other addictive and potentially dangerous drugs. Vape pens should not be sold to people who are not addicted to nicotine. Hence the suggestion for a medical entre.

  9. chris says:

    If we are protecting people from themselves with tax policy, then the General Assembly should slap a huge tax on new motorcycles. I read somewhere that is the most dangerous product out there and more people die or get injured from those accidents than anything else. Did the GA ever pass a helmet law requirement or are riders still just required to have them on their bikes?

  10. mouse says:

    Sussex Tech has become a defacto private school where parents who want escape bad school districts like Seaford send their kids

  11. Paul Hayes says:

    The biggest “crime” of Sussex Tech was no longer being a vocational school. It substituted book learning in non-core classes like “criminal justice” for real hands-on learning that trained kids to be trade professionals. Students built houses with all the trades involved in construction. These kids were betrayed by the overly ambitious administration who wanted Tech to become “not so much tech” substituting paper and pencil or “computers” for real field work. A shame, the more so because it was the legislature’s job to monitor and make sure this kind of corruption did not happen. They failed again and again. (George Carey knew it was the legislature’s responsibility, but he never did any restraining. In my book he betrayed the oath he took as legislator.) Parents who were looking for an alternative to a woeful school district were happy to send their kids to a school with the authority to rid themselves of the lowest performers. In the middle of all this are the younger brothers and sisters of the kids who had gone to Sussex Vo-Tech, a ½ day program. Core subjects were taken back in the home district in the other ½ of the school day. Kids who had difficulties with reading, math, booklearning courses had a true alternative. They were the primary clientele. Now LD were sent back to home districts that did not have the funding to set up or maintain those kinds of programs, i.e. welding, car repair, HVAC, electrical, plumbing or carpentry. We all stood by while this happened. This is the component of the story which still has relevance today. Our offer to these “disposable” kids? “Why, we’ll give you more testing in paper and pencil content areas” with a maniacal drive to be BETTER. I remain disgusted by the education policy choices of the last 2 M administrations and the legislature which did not do their job. Create a new classroom that is relevant to LD kids and anyone else who wants to work with their hands. Stop catering to private test writing companies and corporate “coaches” of public education. Educate yourselves so that when you vote, you vote on substance, not on prejudice.

  12. meatball says:

    I used a vape to quit smoking after a 30 year habit with many failed attempts. Patches, gum, chantix, wellbutrin…none of that worked for me. You don’t have to put nicotine in vape “juice.” But nicotine unto itself isn’t particularly bad for you. Should caffeine be administered by a doctor as well?

  13. anonymous redux says:

    he probably would, meatball. too much enjoyment going on out there.

  14. anonymous redux says:

    would want a doctor to administer caffeine, I mean. maybe I need a stimulant.

  15. Paul Hayes says:

    Those are your words, fellas, not mine.

  16. Paul Hayes says:

    You fellas think I’m against pleasure. Fools you be. Nicotine is dangerous. Did you know it adheres to the same receptor sites as cocaine, and indeed, researchers believe that nicotine may actually, based on the studies, be a real “gateway” drug for cocaine use, exciting those receptor recepter sites so that if cocaine is introduced later, it makes the cocaine “better”. If that isn’t an argument against “But nicotine unto itself isn’t particularly bad for you.” then I jist dust mah britches and scratch mah haid. I jus’ don’t unnerstan’ how you libertarian boys jist think this is a libr’t’r’an blog.

  17. Paul Hayes says:

    Does anyone know the locations, former uses, and information about the 14 sites referred to in the CZA rewrite?

  18. Paul Hayes says:

    Without knowing most of the particulars I think I object to the rewrite of the CZA. The law is the lifework of a man, Russell Peterson, who gave up everything to get this one law enacted. It is almost 50 years old, and while the actual rewrite may be good or not good, the way it is being “marketed” should give anyone pause. It needs to be updated? Really? How about Michelangelo’s Sistine Ceiling? Should we change it to reflect modern society, new cast of characters perhaps? Maybe the Coastal Zone Act is a work of genius and should be preserved. Maybe the only motivation to change it is private gain at public expense. Why should we support a policy that will require us to pay big down the road? I’m fed up with fat cats feeding at the trough of the public good.

  19. I’m not necessarily opposed to any changes, per se. However, those changes should be fully discussed in public forums so that we all understand what the changes would do. This rush to push this through by June 30 is not the way to change part of what has been Delaware’s identity for 45 years.

    When I see a fixer like David Swayze pulling the strings to force this thing through ASAP, my Spidey Sense tingles overtime. What is he trying to get passed before the public can even know what’s being done? Based on Swayze’s track record, it likely isn’t good.

  20. meatball says:

    You’re weird dude. A self proclaimed liberal making a gateway drug argument? Caffeine is also considered a “gateway drug” for cocaine.

  21. Paul Hayes says:

    But my opinion is based on at least some evidence of a scientific nature. Are the others you to which you are referring? You’re job is to define Liberal? Self-proclaimed to slander self-explained. Weird dude? So what?

  22. anonymous redux says:

    after the first sentence, I don’t understand a thing you just said.

  23. anonymous redux says:

    ok, I eventually got the part about somebody defining what a liberal is. but aren’t you doing the same thing? maybe that’s a good debate to have (or continue to have) on this site.

  24. Paul Hayes says:

    Even I had a difficult time understanding what I wrote. Hah hah hah.

  25. Paul Hayes – here’s a good read on the likely purpose to the CZA bill – giving the refinery what they have been caught doing in violation of the act – 3rd party distribution of bulk product
    http://delawareway.blogspot.com/2017/06/is-hb-190-gift-to-delaware-city.html

  26. mouse says:

    Primary every democrat who supports this

  27. Paul Hayes says:

    Thank you Gigi, Nancy