Odds and ends number 119

Since I'm using the concept from monoblogue, I'm keeping the numbering system, too. Here are thinner slices of bloggy goodness.

Looking the wrong way in downtown Lewes on a winter’s day. Given their political proclivity, that may be a perfect metaphor for me.

Back after about a month with some new nuggets as well as good reads from Substack and elsewhere.

A vision of choice

There are times when you need to see something to believe it. In this case, the Caesar Rodney Institute is placing Delaware’s school failures right out in the open, renting a billboard along I-95 south of Wilmington. The simple message, plastered in blue and yellow to match the state colors: Delaware Public Schools: Top in Spending, Bottom in Performance.

And it’s true: a recent assessment of the situation based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress placed Delaware 4th and 8th graders in the bottom five nationally in math and reading. Yet as they insist, “Three of Delaware's poorest-performing schools already spend over $30,000 per student, yet less than 1 in 10 students can read or do math at grade level. These schools are in the city of Wilmington, and a majority of the students are African American.” (Emphasis in original.) But shouldn’t that be “fewer than 1 in 10”?

Regardless, I’ve always believed that money should follow the child, and in this case just imagine what type of savings and better outcomes could occur if students were moved out of failing schools and into better private schools, homeschooling scenarios, or perhaps situations where a group of parents pool those state-allocated resources and hire their own teacher privately.

But the CRI only has the resources to keep this billboard for a month, and they would like to add a couple more locations, one farther down I-95 and another along Delaware Route 1 in Kent or Sussex County, hitting those heading to/from the beach. It’s a message that should get out.

A nose for Newsguard

We all know that the news is biased in some manner. Even though I do commentary moreso than hard news, I’ll freely and cheerfully admit I’m “barely left of militia.”

But there are entities out there who purport to grade news outlets on their reliability, with a primary one being Newsguard. While they think they’re factcheckers, investigative researcher Ken Braun of the Capital Research Center did his own factcheck on Newsguard, stating, “I would like to present Newsgaurd’s CAP nutrition label as noxious enough to snag the coveted Four Marks of Satan.”

It’s become more and more apparent that established news outlets are working hard to discredit “alternative” sites such as those here on Substack. Look at the “Nazi supporter” hullabaloo from last winter as an example, since Substack didn’t do enough in the estimation of certain gatekeepers to remove or demonetize sites they found offensive. If I find a site offensive or wrong, I just go on my merry way and ignore it. In fact, most of the sites I run across are recommended in my Notes, which means they’ve been vetted by those I trust or at least have similar worldviews.

But those which go out of their way to promote a false narrative to maintain power - yeah, those should be called out. Why do you think they’re the ones that came up with so-called “factchecks”?

The generation of N

I seldom link to my other employer, that being The Patriot Post, but in this case I just had to. Mark Alexander, who runs that whole show, had a Wednesday column this week worth reading and sharing with those of a certain age. (I like his assessment of being in the American Liberty generation, “which includes American Patriots born between the years 1750 and eternity.”)

What Alexander pontificates about is the high incidence of narcissism among those considered Generation Z, mainly those born in this millennium. They’re the ones who are in college now (or recently finished) and, for them, they hate America - but still demand we pay off their student loans.

We’ve always had protest and rebellion among the youth - my generation was the sex and drugs and rock ‘n roll one - but the world we live in features a lot of other distractions, such as the dopamine hit of social media and the sense that we don’t make our mark unless we get our fifteen minutes of fame by whatever means necessary, either for good or ill. Our youth don’t have the moral compass to always choose wisely, and that’s what Alexander spends his time ruminating about. It’s worth the read.

Messing up health care in Delaware

There are times I believe the Delaware General Assembly just thinks it has to do something, whether it will be helpful or not.

One case in point is House Bill 350, which has local hospitals up in arms for a good reason: it wrests away local control and gives it to an appointed body.

“As Chairs of the Boards of Directors of our nonprofit community hospitals,” they write, “we urge you to oppose legislation that would replace our role as local community leaders with a politically appointed board tasked with managing Delaware’s hospitals. A Hospital Cost Review Board (H.B. 350) poses a grave threat to quality healthcare in the state.”

The fact that they have just introduced a second substitute measure this week shows that the opposition is being heard, but they’re not listening. Take, for example, the composition of the board - which has evolved from a five-person board selected by politicians (three by the Governor, and one apiece by House and Senate leadership) to a seven-person board that retains a single seat for the Executive Director of the Delaware Healthcare Association, with the other six appointed by the Governor. Why do we need a board of political appointees to begin with?

As the DHA noted in its opposition to the first substitute measure, “The politician-controlled model contained in HS 1 for HB 350 copies the failing Vermont approach, where eleven of the fourteen hospitals operate in debt while having the nation’s fifth highest cost of care. Vermont’s quality of care has deteriorated over the years that this model has been in place. Delaware ranks third best in the nation for hospital quality whereas Vermont ranks 32nd, according to US News and World Report.”

This is one of those bills which hits me where I live, since I’m married to a health care worker in one of those Delaware hospitals. It’s better to have someone who knows what they’re doing at the helm (despite the fact they have a reputation for being overly conscious beancounters) than political hacks with an axe to grind, which will surely be the result of an appointed board in the current Delaware political climate. Let’s face it: the Democrats wouldn’t introduce this if they thought they would lose the upcoming election. So don’t just do something, stand there.

And speaking of said election…

Murray is back

One might consider Julianne Murray a glutton for punishment: in 2020 she ran her first political campaign, which turned out to be a successful quest for the Delaware gubernatorial nomination on the GOP side. She beat five other candidates for the right to represent the party, a field that included the most recent previous GOP gubernatorial nominee and a longtime State Senator from Sussex County, where the party is strongest. But she lost to John Carney, who was the incumbent running for re-election. Two years later the Seaford attorney made a second statewide run, an unsuccessful attempt to outpoll a Democrat incumbent in the Attorney General race.

Then, late last year, Murray won the thankless job of chairing the Delaware Republican Party. And despite the fact there was already a hat in the ring for the job (political neophyte and law enforcement retiree Jerry Price, who I introduced you to briefly a couple months back) Julianne apparently found him lacking and decided to enter the race herself, announcing it via the 38th District Republican Club here in Sussex County. According to a release reposted on the WGMD-FM website:

We need a BOLD gubernatorial candidate that can make the pitch to Delawareans of all walks of life that a change in philosophy of governing is needed based on sound principles and policies. This candidate needs to be FEARLESS about calling out the failed policies that have hurt Delawareans and have put our future and our children’s future in jeopardy. This candidate must have run statewide before and must have demonstrated the ability to close the gap on achieving 50.1% in order to win in November. 

We have diligently looked for a gubernatorial candidate since last Summer. As I have said many times, it is a hard sell. In the course of our search, many people suggested that I was the best choice due to my name recognition, strong following, ability to raise money, and experience in running statewide races. I deferred to the continual search in the hope we could find a candidate who could bring the same attributes that I could bring. While we spoke to many, no one met the criteria we were hoping to find. 

Since it’s an open seat this time, and the Democrats who are running will surely veer well left of center to win a contentious primary, the opportunity is there for Murray. She’ll formally announce her campaign May 8th.

Good Substack links to read

I bet I read 15-20 Substacks a day, some with multiple articles per diem. There’s a lot of good writing there, but sometimes I come across things worth re-reading, even a couple weeks later. So I saved a couple to share here.

This time, though, my “couple” is by one author, who I regard as a good friend and fellow traveler.

David Wolosik

has started what I hope will be a weekly deep dive into the time of the American Revolution.

The Story Around The Writing Of The Declaration Of Independence

On April 19, 1775, Your Ancestors Finally Had Enough And The American Revolution Began

Since Patriots’ Day isn’t too far in the rearview mirror, it’s a good time to revisit that history anyway.

Yet there’s always the question in the back of one’s mind: will we need to do this revolution thing all over again? I know I dabble with the concept of a Convention of States - by the way, there’s still been no vote on SCR100 from the gutless, tyrannical majority in the Delaware Senate - but most who read this are familiar with Jefferson’s saying, “the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants.” I would honestly prefer the Article V approach, so that it only becomes necessary for those who abuse their power to simply pick up an honest living - as I often say that the world needs ditch diggers, too - but that’s not for us to decide. God is in control.

But would it be too much to ask to get right with Him?

Until my next edition of odds and ends, remember you can Buy Me a Coffee since I have a page there.