REPUBLICAN VOTE-BY-MAIL CHALLENGE REJECTED

Former Republican Attorney Jane Brady, (1995-2005), the first woman elected to that position, Delaware Superior Court Judge, (2005-2017), now Delaware Republican Chair Lady and a friend of mine probably knows more about Delaware law than most.

So I must assume when she submitted the law suit in behalf of her party challenging a law allowing vote-by-mail this year due to the pandemic, she knew the challenge would be Dead On Arrival. (DOA)

The suit disagreed with the policy decision of the Democrat Legislature which passed the legislation in the face of the CORONAVIRUSepidemic.

Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock wrote in his opinion. “The legislature, in the face of an epidemic of airborne disease and in light of the health emergency declare by the Governor, has made a determination that vote-by-mail is necessary for the continued operation of governmental functions, and that it would be impracticable to address this problem other than by otherwise-extraconstitutional means. These findings are not clearly erroneous. Therefore, the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment must be denied.

The legislature created vote-by-mail in June, expanding the absentee ballot process in response to concerns about COVID exposer should people be forced to vote in person. The bill passed the House on party lines, though it saw some GOP support in the Senate.

The Republican argument noted state government has continues to function despite COVID and cited the specific reasons given in the state constitution to cast an absentee ballot.

Let us move on.

WILL DELAWARE PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS BECOME THE REPUBLICANS TEA PARTY

After the recent primaries, Delaware Democrats must be wondering if the successful results of Progressive Democrats, whether they have a similar wave of the Delaware Republican Tea Party that has overtaken the old line conservatives and caused a split in the party from below the canal.

Primary night was a big night for progressive activists hoping to push the Democratic Party further to the left, as they saw four upset victories that could help advance their agenda. With the upset of President Pro Tempore David McBride, the second longest serving Democrat who played a pivotal role in holding back gun legislation despite a majority of his fellow Democrats supporting new legislation, it looks more likely gun control legislation and other issues like marijuana and criminal justice reform will take front and center in the upcoming session if these progressives are elected.

Three other Democrat incumbents were knocked off in the primary: Representatives John Viola, Earl Jaques and first term Ray Seigfried were victims of the Progressive group.

The demographics could change as well, with the possibility of the first Muslim and the first gay legislator to serve in the General assembly

Republicans are still reeling from the Tea Party primary win with the loss of heavily favored Mike Castle to Christine O’Donnell who charmed Sussex Democrats who gave her 15,000 votes to pull the upset. Democrat Chris Coons, defeated O’Donnell by 17 percentage points.

She was labeled as “The Witch” because of some of her beliefs. Coons is seeking re-election against Republican Lauren Witzke who has already made enemies with her FB page negative to former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Ginsburg.

EVIDENCE ON TAPE AND IN A BOOK

Do you think with the publication of Bob Woodward (Deep Throat/Watergate) that at least some of the Trump die hards have their eyes opened by his new book, RAGE, a lengthy interview with the president, a tell all book?

In the book which Woodward taped the interviews so Trump couldn’t deny his statements like always, the president admitted he knew the dangers of the virus, but played the seriousness down because he didn’t want to panic Americans.

A good spin and maybe give him credit for this, but that does not excuse he sitting on his hands and not mobilizing the health care industry with needed product to combat the virus and put Americans in a standardized order for everyone to stand down by mandating wearing masks, avoiding crowds, instead of refusing to abide by the advice of his advisors.

While other countries are rebounding from the virus and economic recovery has begun this country is still reporting record deaths, and the economy, especially the mom and pop operations, the backbone of this country’s economy suffers.

Health experts are estimating 100,000 lives could have been saved had Trump acted earlier.

The book by Woodward verifies the many lies Trump has denied over the years including his ties with Russia, his trust in the North Korea and Russia leadership, actually his selling out of Americans.

A Washington Post article by Bob Costa writing about Woodward’s book also indicates Trumps obligation to the Russians for bailing him out of financial blunders making Trump obligated to the Russians.

It’s difficult for Trump to deny the writings in this book; they have him nailed with his actual tapings, Watergate two.

Watching the polls over the next few days should indicate how the Trump supporters will drop Trump or stick with him.

THINKING OF A REVERSE MORTGAGE? THINK AGAIN

More than 350,000 families have a reverse mortgage. Spokes person Tom Selleck, who has a net worth of $45 million says he’s researched this and it is a legit deal for those seniors who have run low of cash for living expenses. “Don’t worry,” he says.

Sounds good for 1/3 of U.S. households who have nothing saved for retirement and the average amount saved among the remaining 2/3 was $73,200. That might get you through a few years of retirement, but it’s not enough to last through a long retirement, and seniors are living longer.

“A reverse mortgage loan can help some older homeowners meet ffinancial needs, but can also jeopardize their retirement if not used carefullyu,” CFPB Director Richard Cordray said, “For consumers whose main asset in tdheir home, taking out a reverse mortgage to delay SS claiming may risk their financial security because the cost of the loan will kikely be more than the benefit tdhey gain.”

HUD reported that more than 18% of reverse mortgages taken out from 2009 to June 2016 are expected to default because of unpaid taxes and insurance. That compares with fewer than 3% of federally-insured traditional mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent.

Selleck confidently states one can even skip payments, but he doesn’t mention interest on the loan is still added monthly.

AAG has used well-known and respected celebrities to promote their program; Harry (Fonzi) Wrinkler, Pat Boone, and Law and order, U.S. Senator Fred Thompson. In 2015 the CFPB fined AAG $400,000 after it determined old ads featuring Thompson wrongfully claimed consumers couldn’t lose their homes. A lot of people have. Many others ended up losing money with a reverse mortgage.

Their may be positives to having a reverse mortgage, but like everything that sounds too good to be true usually isn’t. If you are thinking about getting a reverse mortgage, please research the pros and cons before you do.

BEING GOVERNOR; NO SECOND GUESSING

I met with Governor Sherman Tribbitt in his office shortly after he was elected Governor after serving the state as Lt. Governor before being elected Governor, I asked the question, “How does it feel sitting on the other side of the desk as governor and not as Lt. Governor?”

He quickly replied, “No second guessing, you make a decision and go for it”. The Governor certainly had his share of decisions to make which affected the lives of thousands of Delawareans including the closure of Farmers Bank, the destruction of the railroad bridge over the Delaware River, and an inherited bankrupt state.

I’ve thought often of him during the turmoil our current Governor, John Carney is going through with the COVID-19 on a daily basis. He has to make decisions daily affecting all Delawareans. No second guessing, lives are at risk.

Their is enough second guessing from his opponents.

As reported by The Washington Post, 73% of Delawareans in a May Survey/Monkey Poll said they approved of how Gov. Carney has handled the state’s response to the outbreak. That figure was tied for 15th overall and seventh out of the 24 Democratic governors. From what I’m hearing the majority of Delawareans feel the same.

Still the criticism and actions for his actions continues, the latest from St. Senator Colin Bonini, who although did not mention the Governor by name instead saying, “officials should have been more willing to keep businesses and other establishments open, only shutting them down in the face of a clear and present danger.”

His fellow Republicans in the House and Senate share his feelings posting letters to the media trying to be advocates for small businesses when their voting records show a progressive anti-tax relief for the wealthy.

His fellow Republicans in the House and Senate share his feelings posting letters to the media trying to be advocates for small businesses when their policies have shown support for large corporations.

I was glad to see Dr. John Stapleford, policy director of the Conservative Caesar Rodney Institute pleas for the reopening for the working class people who are certainly no doubt the victims of businesses closing.

It was only months ago, he and his institute were fighting Gov. Carney over raising the minimum wage saying it would close businesses. He didn’t care about the working class then. POLITICS as usual.

I think pressure from protestors wanting businesses to open have seen the negative effect this is having with the beaches, bars, restaurants being packed causing the pandemic to increase in just a week.

I am an 82 year old senior with health problems. Every day I fear sticking my head out the door that someone who is enforcing his Constitutional rights by not wearing a mask may breathe on me and send me to the high heavens. Not a good feeling.

I thank my governor for his conservative handling of this virus. The Governor has put a hold on phrase three because of increase of cases during the past week. Good for him. We have the right man to protect us in Governor Carney.

I have a feeling after the public celebrates the 4th and spreads the virus we’re going back to the house to stay for awhile.

LATEST SACRAFICIAL LAMB ENTERS REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS RACE

The latest candidate to enter an uphill battle to the Governors Mansion by a Republican, is State Senator Colin Bonin who apparently hopes to improve upon his 35% showing in his first run.

Aside from two unknown Republicans candidates is another familiar face St. Senator Bryant Richardson who is attempting his second try for the nomination losing to Bonin in their last matchup.

I call them sacrificial lambs, not out of disrespect but by being convinced by whomever pushed them to run that unless incumbent Democrat Governor John Carney does something really embarrassing, he is in like Flynn, and I don’t mean the General.

Politics in Delaware runs like this: if party leaders from both sides in New Castle County think they have a snowballs chance of upsetting an incumbent or their is an open seat, it goes north. If polling, and it goes on year round, shows a weakness some brave Republican from north of the canal will be the parties choice to be on the November ballot.

If polling shows not a chance in Hell, party members up north will allow downstaters to battle it out.

Even so on the state ticket Republicans are underdogs because of the states registration. Democrats out number registered Republicans by 48% to 27% with the majority of Democrats in NCCo. During the 1960’s to the 1980’s the opposite was the Democrats in the southern two counties out registered Republicans. In the Laurel area the registration was 4-1 Democrats.

Bonini like most Republicans is opposed to Carney’s handling of the Coronavirus. He has not directly attacked the governor on this issue, but said officials should have been more willing to keep businesses and other establishments open, only shutting them down in the face of a clear and present danger.

Breaking news Senator. Delaware’s numbers only increased when the governor began opening doors and beaches. He was correct in holding back.

As reported by the Washington Post, 73% of Delawareans in a May Survey/Monkey Poll said they approved of how Gov. Carney has handled the state’s response to the outbreak. That figure was 15th overall and seventh out of the 24 governors.

S. KOREA ONLY 282 DEATHS FROM CORNONAVIRUS HOW DID THEY DO IT. FRANKLY SPEAKING: www.frankcalio.com

South Korea a city of 8 million people reported their first case of the Coronavirus the same day as the US, January 2020. As of the 16th of this month they has reported only 282 deaths and 12,653 cases compared the millions of cases and thousands of deaths in this country.

How did they do this what went wrong in this country.

South Korea a city of 8 million people reported their first case of the Coronavirus the same day as the US, January 2020. As of the 16th of this month they has reported only 282 deaths and 12,653 cases compared the millions of cases and thousands of deaths in this country.

By the end of February, South Korea had the most COVID-19 patients of any country outside China. New confirmed cases were doubling every few days, and pharmacies were running out of face masks. More than a dozen countries imposed travel restrictions to protect their citizens from the Korean outbreak, including the U.S., which had, at the time, recorded an official COVID-19 death toll low enough to count on one hand.Read: Why the coronavirus is so confusing But just as South Korea appeared to be descending into catastrophe, the country stopped the virus in its tracks. The government demanded that the Shincheonji Church, the largest church in Korea, turn over its full membership list, through which the Ministry of Health identified thousands of worshippers. All were ordered to self-isolate. Within days, thousands of people in Daegu were tested for the virus. Individuals with the most serious cases were sent to hospitals, while those with milder cases checked into isolation units at converted corporate training facilities. The government used a combination of interviews and cellphone surveillance to track down the recent contacts of new patients and ordered those contacts to self-isolate as well.

Within a month, the Korean outbreak was effectively contained. In the first two weeks of March, new daily cases fell from 800 to fewer than 100. (This morning, the nation of 51 million reported zero new domestic infections for the third straight day.) On April 15, the country successfully held a national parliamentary election with the highest turnout in three decades, without triggering another wave. South Korea is not unique in its ability to bend the curve of daily cases; New Zealand, Australia, and Norway have done so, as well. But it is perhaps the largest democracy to reduce new daily cases by more than 90 percent from peak, and its density and proximity to China make the achievement particularly noteworthy.

In the time that South Korea righted its course, the United States veered into disaster. In mid-March, the U.S. and South Korea had the same number of coronavirus-caused fatalities—approximately 90. In April, South Korea lost a total of 85 souls to COVID-19, while the U.S. lost 62,000—an average of 85 deaths every hour. That the U.S. population is approximately six times larger than South Korea’s does little to soften the horror of the comparison.

Juxtaposing the South Korean response with the American tragedy, some commentators have chalked up the difference to an ancient culture of docile collectivism and Confucianism across the Pacific. This observation isn’t just racist. It also exoticizes South Korea’s success and makes it seem like the inevitable result of millennia of cultural accretion, rather than something the U.S., or any other country, can learn from right now. The truth is that the Korean government and its citizens did something simple, admirable, and all too rare: They suffered from history, and they learned from it.

FLOYD’S DEATH: FRUSTRATION, SINCERITY,UNITY AND POLITICAL

The recent death of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police captured on video and watched all over the world brought on demonstrations, mostly sincere to unify the world over police mistreatment of mostly black people, the injustice of the system, hoping for a movement to change procedures, and of course some using the opportunity to further their political calendar.

We’ve seen similar protests when their is a shooting or bombing, particular a mass killing on some school campus, religious or office buildings.

Usually in both events when the smoke clears despite strong protest, and hearings in Congress, nothing gets done. Will the same happen again?

Apparently injustice among minorities not only exist in this country but in many other countries as evidenced by the outpouring of demonstrators.

This being an election year brought out elected officials from all walks of life, and some activists who want to secure their agenda. Most I hope were sincere in helping the cause, some I doubt.

Democrats have passed a new crimes bill, and Trump has promised one from his party. Hopefully the two bill combined will benefit the American public especially the minorities.

Their has been many articles and TV documentaries on the plight of the minorities; being stopped by police for no violiations, treated differently than whites with remarks to black business people with vans marked of their business, with policeman no black man can, you name the rest.

Don’t want to pick on my southern friends, but anytime we traveled south we’d see many cars pulled off the road by police, very few white, sometimes two or three police cars with black family members and children sitting on the side of the road. and the dad with his hands on the top of their car trunk open. Take a hard look next time you travel south.

I had to wonder why they were stopped. I have read the posts which state the police have killed more white men than black. Yes, but most of those were both sides exchanging gun fire from a robbery, hostage situation or other events, not a traffic stop or someone jogging, some event which usually required a call for police back up. I have never seen a white person dragged out of a house, a robbery, or a traffic stop.

I’m thinking should a new crime bill be passed, it will be a watered down non-effective bill just to show something was done, and each legislator can brag of their efforts to protect their citizens.