Decisive Leadership demonstrated on DNA Issue… or not…

Glad to see that the Democratic Party is on the job with public safety. The News Journal has run a couple of articles on the underfunding of the DNA lab needed to prosecute cases in Delaware. The most recent one, from which I’m taking the following quotes, can be found here. (And another article from the series can be found here).

Let’s start with House Speaker Bob Gilligan, who with 37 years of experience in Dover in Leadership – having been first elected in 1972 – seemed unaware that there was a problem: “It’s alarming. We’re not going to be able to match what they get paid in some other labs, but I think we can raise salaries by $10,000 a year. That’s a realistic figure.”

Of course, Majority Leader Pete Schwarzkopf, who is a retired State Police Officer and is Speaker Gilligan’s number 2, expressed the following: “We can’t have murderers running around the streets, either…I guarantee that it will be looked at [in the Joint Finance Committee for next years budget].” (That is no murderers running around after next June…)

In the Senate, Bond Bill Chair Bob Venables, whose neice’s husband got $50,000 for a french fry machine, doesn’t think we can fund the salaries: “These analysts are highly sought. If we don’t pay them, they are going to go somewhere else. But I don’t know how we’re going to do it with this budget crisis.” (French fry, anyone?)

And the Governor expressed his usual “can-do” attitude with the following: “It’s an important public safety issue. We’ve got to take a very hard look at all of this and figure out a way to get it done.”

Here’s a summary of Delaware’s Democratic leadership on the issue — “$10,000 is not that much” to “we’ll do it next June” to “we can’t do it in this crisis” to “we’ll take a hard look.”

I feel safer already…

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My we’re grouchy.

Steny Hoyer, a D leader in the House, blew a gasket earlier when he derided the GEORGE W BUSH Republicans for ignoring Afghanistan.

It’s farcial. It’s ludicrous and it reeks of desperation.

The far left is about to do a LBJ on the the President as in, “hey hey LBJ how many kids did you kill today”

They want the troops home – as does any sane person – but at what cost to our security?

Phillip II of Macedon was the only person in history to conquer Afghanistan. ( he was Alexander’s dad)

So do we stay and try to keep the enemy at bay or do we come home and allow them to come to us, again.

This is why the D’s are grouchy. The answer is hard to define or to arrive at.

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An observation.

Being the erudite bunch that you are I have every confidence that you are well versed in the travails of the Catholic Diocese re: sexual abuse.

Please note the following is just a rehash of a rather intense conversation between friends a few weeks ago. I am not agreeing or disagreeing with the following opinions just sharing them as a sociological exercise.

There were roughly 20 of us at a birthday party. All attendee’s are Catholic and the issue of the abuse came up. Within minutes the lines of demarcation were drawn. Those over 50 were mad at the accusers and those under 40 were seeing their faith shaken. Being a guest I kept quiet and listened to statements such as this: 

“those kids could have fought back”

“their parents knew what has happening and allowed it, they could have told them they couldn’t go over”

“those kids got college paid for and had cars bought for them” 

“the parents knew they’d get a settlement”

v.

“those kids and parents were uneducated and scared of the priest”

“psychological warfare was done to those kids”

“back then no one ever questioned a priest”

“the Diocese knew and kept quiet they should pay millions”

“the kids were terorized into not telling”

Please note this is in no way shape or form designed to mock, belittle or denigrate this tragedy.

It’s just an observation.

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Dover — Tobacco Settlement — RGGI Fund Spending

Legislators in Delaware used to brag about how in our State, we never tapped the Tobacco Settlement money for anything other than healthcare expenses. Of course, this year we tapped the Tobacco Settlement money for “solving” part of our budget shortfall*. At this pace it won’t be long until we follow New York Governor Paterson’s lead and take Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative money (RGGI) to solve our on-going budget problems as well. From Bloomberg (the article can be found here):

“The Regional Green House Gas Initiative was created to advance energy efficiency, renewable energy and cutting-edge clean technologies, not to serve as a reserve fund for other state programs,” said Marcia Bystryn, president of the conservation league.

Tapping the climate fund to close a budget gap reverses Paterson’s efforts to support renewable energy. In his January state-of-the-state address, he said clean energy was one of his top three priorities.

I would hate to be one of Gov. Paterson’s bottom 3 priorities!

Delaware has already netted over $4 million from the RGGI Carbon Credit auctions. By law these are to be spent on the Sustainable Energy Utility, Weatherization, and LIHEAP recipients. Of course, epilogue language in the budget can change state law in the blink of an eye — just ask the Tobacco Settlement Fund (or the elimination of Open-Space Preservation funding).

* The Markell Administration had recommended increasing taxes on senior citizens by eliminating the $500 senior real estate tax exemption. The Democratic leadership of the General Assembly thought that increasing taxes on senior citizens was a bad idea, and so took the money for the exemption from the Tobacco Settlement Fund.

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