I’m Crazy and I’m Right

In honor of Santorum leaving the GOP race and finally letting Multiple Choice Mitt say YES to the GOP dress, here is this fun bit from the Bad Lip Reading Crew:

A Look at How Red State Welfare Queens Operate

Texas is one of those places that personify the whole Red State BS — lots of bluster, belligerence and general bellicosity on being self-reliant, not feeding at the government trough and all of that other hooey about pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and not relying on the government.  Bloomburg has a great article called, Texas-Sized Safety Net Supports County Voting 83% Against Obama.

Friday Open Thread [3.30.2012]

Sorry gang!  Not sure what happened here, but use this as your daily Open Thread.  Today’s point and laugh moment comes from the champions of point and laugh:

Insurance Commissioner Debate Tomorrow!

The first (I think!) Insurance Commissioner Candidate Forum will be held this Monday among the current officially filed Democratic candidates for the office:

Insurance Commissioner Candidate Forum
Monday March 26th, 2012
7:00 pm
Marbrook Elementary School
2101 Centerville Road
Wilmington, DE

Delaware Gets a C- on the Corruption Risk Report Card

The State Integrity Investigation has conducted a year-long study of the effectiveness (or even existence) of each state’s laws and operating procedures in place to deter corruption and promote government accountability and openness. This report is done and published as of yesterday (19 March 2012) and Delaware gets an overall grade of C-, ranked #22 in terms of least corruption risk out of all 50 states. The state that came in the best? That would be New Jersey, with a grade of B+. Take a look at Delaware’s report card:

The Delaware DREAM Act Introduced Today

This is very positive news — Senator Robert Marshall and Rep. Helene Keeley (or Rep Joe Miro according to the NJ) are the lead sponsors on a bill announced today at the LACC that would allow undocumented children to qualify for in-state college tuition rates and scholarships. If it gets passed, Delaware would be the 12th state that would level the playing field for these children.

City of Wilmington Mayoral Cattle Call — Outsourced to Mayor Baker Edition

This is a quick inventory of recent news and goings on in Wilmington’s Mayor’s race. Last time we did this as shortly after the New Year, and even this won’t be a proper cattle call, but we’re going to let Mayor Baker do the honors via this video weighing in on the candidates so far (thanks to Newsworks.org):

Late Night Video — The Speechless Banker

A few days ago, there was a press opportunity with ECB representatives, where Irish journalist Vincent Browne wanted to know specifically why the people of Ireland are being asked to live with the debt burden of a defunct bank. This is the kind of questioning many of us would like to see our own journalists perform when standing in front of folks who are taking crazy decisions on our behalf. These questions are fierce, fearless and utterly just. And the banker has nothing to say.

Adventures in Subscribing to the Digital News Journal

So the NJ has put up their paywall, and you are limited to 5 articles (per week? per month?) and they helpfully count down the number of free articles you have left in a box in the lower right hand of your screen every time you click on a new article. I waited until the paywall finally went into effect to sign up (for the record, I actually buy this paper every day I am in town) and preserve my access to online articles. I’ve tried subscribing twice online and finally called today to figure out why I still can’t get the NJ online.

Monday Open Thread [2.27.12]

Sorry this Open Thread is late — much going on today. Please be sure to see Pandora’s excellent blogging on the Red Clay mess and be sure to pass this info on to your friends and relatives who might live in Red Clay. She’s done an excellent job of turning over the rock that is Red Clay decision-making.

Sunday Open Thread — Oscars Edition! [2.26.12]

Tonite the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presents their awards for 2011 film achievements. If you are outside of this industry, the interest in the Oscars seems to be either, 1) Dishy — what they wore, who they were with, what they screwed up or 2) Snobby — mostly centered around the perceived lack of artistry in the nominations. I’m in Camp 2. So what do you think about this year’s nominations? Join us below and tell us who you think will win, what should have been nominated and preview the night’s gossip.

NJ Truthiness Watch — Women’s Health Care is Not Important Unless Men Say It Is

The editorial in Saturday’s NJ does a couple of dumb and dangerous things in siding with the religious leaders who have been howling about the Obama Administration’s ACA rule that religious institutions need to provide contraceptive coverage to their female employees as part of a preventative care package. This isn’t the first time that the NJ editorial has been quick to join the war on women’s health care. And as usual, the NJ editorial staff doing the writing of this thing never bothered to inform themselves of the facts of this business and pretty much just repeat what they see on cable TV.