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The Golden Flush Award
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Humans are amazing creatures.  We focus so much on time that we fail to realize how fast it goes by.  Almost a paradox isn’t it?  We focus so much that we can’t see it?

60 years ago the Korean War was officially over.  Today we still have troops protecting the South from invasion by the North.  It is a cost we willingly take on, to give us our Hundai’s and Samsung products.  How could we live without them.

The notice of this milestone takes one’s breath away for just a second; like hearing the news that an acquaintance as passed, or that a marriage has actually lasted “that” long.  or the sudden realization that we too, are suddenly upon inspection, not as young as we really thought we were.

The Korean War was pivotal in making the US a world player.  We were weary of the second world war.  Friends were dead and buried.  Some came back broken and never got well.  We focused on life here, getting our GI bill’s worth of opportunity, immersing ourselves to forget the horrors we collectively experienced for our nation overseas.  Then, just as we were about to get our degrees,  Korea was all communist.

There were a few beachheads at the southern tip still in our control, but most of the island had been quickly overrun.  No one could stop them but us, and we all lined up to sign on again for our country.  MacArthur was in charge of Japan and of course, felt it was his destiny to seize command.  All that WWII knowledge came into play again, and we made an amphibious landing in the middle of the peninsula, coming in from the Chinese side and driving across to cut off the armies in the South.  We quickly mopped them out of existence and marched north to unite the country again.  As we got close to the Chinese border, suddenly we were fighting the Chinese for which we were not prepared.  We got pushed back again, back over our hard fought ground in what looked like a complete rout.  Our Marines retreated 100 miles  often finding themselves behind enemy lines, as the Chinese so rapidly advanced with superior numbers.

The Armistice was a big deal.  It got us out, while leaving  the territory was  pretty much where they were at the beginning.

America learned it was costly to remain neutral against communist societies..  Intervene early. Intervene often, keep it small,  a policy which ultimately gave us the Vietnam War.   A war in which the Korean Vets were shocked that whereas they had jumped at the call to duty a second time, their children chose to protest instead.  Two different wars; two different generations, two different approaches.

Bottom line, is that the Korean War teaches us that history is not static.  Weeds do grow in the garden and must be plucked out if the garden is to be anything other than weeds.  And It takes effort to weed.

So with the Korean anniversary comes a mixed memory.  One, we were not the only superpower who was invincible. We could be beaten.  Two, stability with a crazy adversary is better than a full out war. Three, with stability, one can do great things with an economy…  The United States apparently makes all the difference.

Today, there are rumblings in the South China Sea.  If you only listen to American media you know nothing about it.  It is all but ignored.  The United States is there, as is 60% of our naval forces to enforce the peace.  It is a tough job.  It is a necessary job.

60 years of success shows how it can be.

A bill was placed on the docket to change Delaware Law.  It was supposed to slip through the last minute when no one was watching.    That is Blevins SB 151 regarding the Treasury…   Since it was a surprise, a lot of hoopla as been thrown  in the fire by pundits reacting to the impact of first impressions.   In their defense that was all they had to go on…

Due to time constraints this investigation will take a series of small steps, probably spread across Delaware’s official blog circuit, with help from Starkey of the News Journal

But to back up the word coup in my title,  I first want to show you how the original language was written then show you how it looked with the changes after SB 151.  Of course this was stated as necessary to keep the state treasure in line, a ploy that El Som and Cassandra seem to have swallowed hook, line and sinker.

First the original bill:

For those who follow along (you all are great) here is the passage number  Title 29; 2716(a)(2)


(1) Require as a condition to any deposit of such funds in any state or national bank or savings and loan institution that such deposits be continuously and fully secured by direct general obligations of or obligations the payment of the principal and interest on which are unconditionally guaranteed by the United States of America or other suitable obligations as determined by the Board;

(2) Require that the selection of financial institutions to provide banking and investment services pursuant to this section be conducted on an open and competitive basis; and

(3) Require that temporary clearing accounts as well as major disbursement accounts be established in a bank or banks whose principal office is located within the State.


That was the original piece of legislation.  Patty’s bill seeks to amend the section 2 of that piece, the embolden area.  From SB 151…


(2) Require that the selection of financial institutions to provide banking and investment services pursuant to this section be conducted on an open and competitive basis as defined by the Board.; It shall be the responsibility of the Board to approve the selection of each of the said financial institutions by a majority vote of the members of the Board. The Board, by a majority vote of its members, shall be responsible for setting the policy as to the allocation between short and long term investments and the allocation of funds to the respective financial institutions selected through the open and competitive process; and


Notice a “lot” of new language. In the synopsis this was sold as a clarification of the responsibilities of the board and the trimming of the responsibilities of the Treasurer. Instead, in what is now typical Markell modus of operandi, this if more of a surreptitious law-change than a clarification.

Previously the directive was this should be done in on an open and competitive basis. The previous directive specifically states this further down: 2716 (e)(1)


The investment of money belonging to the State shall be made by the State Treasurer in accordance with policies established by the Board and subject to the terms, conditions and other matters, including the designation of permissible investments relating to the investment of the money belonging to the State,


It is obvious to all that the existing law separates the Treasurer specifically out from all other board members when it comes to the investment of the state’s finances.

And that was really all existing code says in regards to the investment portfolio of the state’s money.

But, the new law, the one proposed by Blevins titled SB 151, makes HUGE changes. Now the board must make that decision. The board which according to Title 29; 2716(c)(4):


The Board shall meet as often as shall be necessary to properly discharge its duties; provided, however, that the Board shall meet at least 2 times annually; and provided further, that the State Treasurer or the Chairperson of the Board shall be authorized to call special meetings of the Board.


and 2716 (c)(2)


a quorum of 5 members shall be necessary to hold a meeting of the Board.


and 2716 (d)(5)


The use of teleconferencing or videoconferencing is authorized for use in conducting meetings of the Cash Management Policy Board.


Even now under existing policy only 3 people out of nine, if they time their conference-call correctly, can decide the future investment strategy of this state. Patty Blevin’s law would now give those three people (whomever they might be) unprecedented power and remove the current oversight of the only elected official responsible to the public.

“Coup” is the proper term for it.

I'm Mitch McConnell and I Approve Of This Message

BBC picked upon this… it’s awesome.

Obama: America needs a clear vision on how to approach the problems of the future.
Romney: America needs a clear vision on how to fix the problems of the past….

We voted, and thought we got one….

We are going to tax the wealthy and force them to invest in America to cut back on their taxes paid…….

But no… Despite the “clear vision we sent them” 332 to 206… We now got Double Vision. Some in the Republican Party are pretending the election so decisively decided against them, didn’t happen…

Of course anything can be said in a vacuum… or an echo chamber. But the realistic realization for Republicans on November 6th, was that “hello,(knock on wooden head)…you are in a little room all by yourselves. The rest of America is on to building the America WE want.. full of growth and prosperity for the Middle Class” The election had an audience. That audience needs to stay intact to collectively tell Mitch McConnell… “Sit down”.

Did you ever go to a town hall meeting? Where in the quiet of productive discussion, someone stands up and starts screaming, and the entire audience to a single person, says, “Shut up fool?”

Well, it is every American’s duty to do that now… We have work to do and we certainly don’t need any drunk clowns thinking they demand all our attention…. Right? We had an election, and WE, the People, decided the issue.

Please send this message to Mitch McConnell C/o his Senate Mailbox.

Fill out the form as a dutiful American citizen expressing your views. If time is important, feel free to copy and paste this message at the bottom of the form…

Dear Mitch:

Remember at those town meetings, the fool who always gets up to disrupt, and starts screaming against some inane point that was decided long ago and everyone tells him to shut up and sit down? Well, that’s you, dude when it comes to keeping the Bush Tax Cuts. Shut up and sit down. We got work to do.

Respectfully Yours:

Citizen of the United States of America













So who could?











That is human nature.








Suddenly you are powerful again.  It feels good.

How does or can the US combat that influence?






















1) You know he is not going to win.
3) You can’t pin down where Romney stands on anything.
4) He tied his dog to a car.



1. Become reality driven. Don’t kid yourself or others.
Find out what’s what and base your decisions and actions
on that.

2. Always be honest and tell the truth. It’s extremely
difficult to do any damage to anybody when you are
willing to tell the truth–regardless of the

you actually accomplish, the louder your critics become.
You’ve got to learn to ignore your critics. You’ve got to
continue to do what you think is right. You’ve got to
maintain your integrity.

4. Determine your goal, develop a plan to reach that
goal, and then act. Don’t procrastinate.

5. Make sure everybody who ought to know what you’re
doing knows what you’re doing. Communicate.

6. Don’t hesitate to deliver bad news. There is always
time to salvage things. There is always time to fix
things. Henry Kissinger said that anything that can be
revealed eventually should be revealed immediately.


Honesty. Integrity. Principal.



1) He cut the rate of government growth in half,


3) Privatized half of the prisons in the state,




7) Shifted Medicaid to managed care.








Steve buried it first.

Tallahassee, the capitol city of Florida, a state of 19 million people, had a parade for veterans, … and nobody came…..

And this state went for Mitt Romney, overwhelmingly. And this state is also considered the birthplace of the Tea Party. And this state is so backward they don’t arrest someone standing over the body of a dead man, because that dead man’s skin is darker than the guy holding the gun….

And this state doesn’t give a fuck about veterans. Yet they were the first to argue that American men and women go over to invade Iraq….

Selfish, selfish, selfish Floridians. And they… liked Mitt Romney the best…

This is exactly what we will get, if Mitt Romney becomes president. A country where no one cares….

Only one man can stop Mitt now. It is now, or never….

(Seriously, how could any person run for the American Presidency and hate American soldiers as much as he does…) Makes everyone want to punch him right in the middle of his square jaw….

J. C Penny refused to cow to the alleged boycott by the Million Moms, part of the American Dumbass Association, and stood up today, saying it is proud to stand behind Ellen DeGeneres as their spokesperson….

Unlike the Koman foundation, they can do math…..

311,591,917 Americans

At 50.8% that includes  158,288,693 women….

Out of which 1 Million Moms equals…   0.6% of one measly percent…..

To the American Family Blah, Blah, Blah Organization……

“Oh, … shut…..  up.”


Is this. They take money away from other schools…

The idea of charter schools is Republican at best. You take a school, make it excel, and parents will want to send their kids there. You then close other schools that fail…

The problem that was never addressed, was what then do we do with all those students who for whatever reason, can’t get into a charter school.

The answer provided by the Charter School Program, is that we consolidate them into even more problematic, even more underfunded, and even more unstructured environments where if they couldn’t learn before, they certainly can’t learn now….

There is a maxim in both business and the military. You are only as good as your weakest point. The same could be said for dykes around New Orleans. Having a real strong dyke on the wealthiest side of the city, does little when the water comes in from behind, because you forgot to account for a barrier on the poor side of the city.

That’s the problem with Charter Schools…..

Some Charter schools do well. But a lot do no better than public. Charter Schools get to pick their students. If Charter schools had to accept special needs students as do public schools, they would be forced to close…

What Charter Schools do provide, is a haven for parents to send kids so they will not be infested with ghetto values. Pencader School of Business was founded on these principles by Principal Dave Jones. There was no ghetto value along the shore of the Delaware River, overlooking New Jersey.

Some Charter Schools do well. Some Public Schools do well. What both have in common, is a principal who has autonomy to run his school… No DoE’s. No mandates by Dover. None of the normal bullshit that politics has laid at the feet of those just trying to help today’s youth make it in tomorrow’s world.

Another common factor, is that successful schools have community involvement. The community looks up to the schools with respect, and the schools look out to the community with respect. When the community and schools are in line and working off the same page, they are successful; whether private, charter, or public, makes little difference.

It is apparent after reviewing the literature covering both sides of the Charter issue, that the successes on both extremes, have these common values. Good leadership and community support.

It appears current society’s focus needs to re-establish those two cores. Good leadership and community support.

The Department of Education needs to bug out of student’s learning.

The answer to education is simple.

You need a great reward for graduating students to make learning worthwhile. My generation was motivated by the fact that we would one day be paid based on how well we achieved academically. That was a lie. Today’s children know it by 2nd grade.

Second, you need a great reward for educators and principals to achieve the impossible. People rise to the occasion presented. A simple $20,000 bonus if every child in your class, simply met objectives, with $1000 minus off for each of those that did not, would certainly fix education in one year.

Third, you need to give principals autonomy. Their bonus should be $200,000. Then, you rank each principal on the percentage of teachers he has, who received the full $20,000 bonuses…… IF his salary is dependent on how many of his teachers get their full bonuses, his primary goal, will be to work with every teacher for that endeavor. Not as is currently proscribed, working against them…

If every student, every teacher, every principal is working diligently for the same goal, you will not need a Department of Education. You will not need Governmental Interference.

You will need structure (prisons) for lost causes. You will need school transportation funding. You will need upkeep on buildings. You will need new technology. You will need investment in music, art, and drama. You will need investment in sports.

School defines who we are. Cutting down our options, diminishes our future potential.

Mankind can do extraordinary things. We have, when the needs have arisen, done so… Just this tiny bit of money, placed in the right investment category, can change the entire scenario of a failed school district, into a thriving one.

1) Advocate raising the top rates to 40%
2) Advocate raising capital gains rates to 40%.
3) Only corporate tax credits offered, will be in direct proportion to new physical capital, invested in America. No tax credits for foreign investment. No tax credits for buying another company outright. No tax credit for anything speculative in nature.

And don’t worry what Republicans say… Hell, they were arguing we should get out of the war against Germany and Japan, during the election held in the middle of WWII…

They didn’t win, btw.