It’s been a busy week, so I am going to drop a lot here today, and let the guest’s comments flesh it out in an open thread. POLITICAL SIGNS IN SUSSEX; It seems as though Sussex County Council intends to take their war on signs and private property even farther. The Council has been working on limiting the types of signs which private owned businesses can erect, on private property.
Now, due in part to a letter, to the Cape Gazette, from someone who may have a political axe to grind, the Council may be on the verge of attempting to deprive people of their First Amendment rights. The letter complained about several, so-called political signs, erected on private property, with the owner’s permission, for County Council candidate, I.G. Burton.
There is a regulation concerning the placement of political signs ninety days prior to an election along the roadways. But does this, or should this, apply to signs erected on private property?
If I take an old political sign from, say six years ago, for a candidate who is not running for anything, and I place it in my yard, am I breaking the law? Maybe I consider it art, or a political statement. Does the sign have to be for a current candidate to fall under the regulation of the state and county? After all, are political signs, placed on private property, any different from the black silhouettes of a man leaning against a tree with his dog? Or the fat ladies bent over in the flower beds, or those god awful lawn sheep which were so popular a few years back?
The current Sussex County Council is made up of mostly Republicans who like to play at being conservative. However, their recent vote against a private investor for the Overbrook project, and their ongoing attacks on private businesses and their signs, call that conservatism into question. And now it would seem they may be going after our right to express ourselves in any way.
REGISTER OF WILLS IN SUSSEX; There is currently a bill in the Senate that would consolidate all three of the county’s Register of Wills offices under the control of the Court of Chancery, which the offices already act as an arm of right now. The bill would also do away with the elected office of the Register of Wills as well. This would cause a tax and fee increase in Sussex, as they would be aligned with the other two counties. And while this would be an increase on some, there would be a savings overall to tax payers everyday.
The one Republican who has signed onto the bill is former Register of Wills and current 35th District Representative, Dave Wilson. It has come to my attention, the 35th RD District Committee has put out a call to arms on this issue. Not surprising since the RD Chair, Jordan Warfel, is a long time supporter and lackey of current Sussex Register of Wills, Cindy Green.
Let’s face it, while this is historically an elected office, it really is nothing more than an elected bureaucrat. The holder of the office cannot pass any regulations or laws, they can’t even set the wages of their own underlings. So when we hear the likes of Warfel, touting local control, one must ask, what local control, and of what?
Just to be clear, the bill clearly states, any revenue generated by the particular counties, will remain in the counties.
THE SUSSEX GOP; So I again took the bullet for all those Sussex Republicans who are smart enough not to waste two and a half hours of their lives, to go to the monthly meetings.
Not much happening this month either, just the usual moving of the deck chairs. Interesting that when the Executive Committee Chairman, Bill Carroll, talks about fund-raising, he can’t help but talk about the candidate filing fees. This is because this is what the committee is living off of.
Oh, they talked about another fund-raising dinner, in September!
They are about to subsidize candidates who take a candidate’s school, using money the committee has received from filing fees. Problem is? This money is technically not the committee’s to spend yet. You see, as I have pointed out in the past, until the filing deadline has passed, a candidate can ask for the money back. One has to wonder how the Sussex GOP would pay it back, if they have already spent it?
On another note, there was a motion made, and a resolution passed, to question the state Republican Committee on the procedures, and actual process of the election of the National Committee people. It seems that some within the Sussex Committee are not happy with the results, considering their go to, run for anything guy, Kevin Wade lost, again. The inference is, that there was some kind of rigged game, or corruption.
I spoke with state Chairman Charlie Copeland, who had not heard form Sussex Chair Billy Carroll as of yet. Mr. Copeland assured me he had every confidence, that the rules of the election, set forth by the state committee had been followed, and the integrity of those involved in the process and the counting of the votes, was beyond question.
One note to keep in mind. When this question of procedure in the voting for national committee people was brought up at the Sussex meeting, Chairman Carroll offered no comment or explanation. This is important, because as a Region Chair, he is one of the people involved in the voting, and one would expect the Region Chair, of the largest region, with the most elected officials in the state, to have some working knowledge of the process.
We will have to wait to see if Chairman Carroll contacts Chairman Copeland as he has been tasked by his committee to do.
And one last funny note from the meeting, which may shine a light on the attitudes of those involved in the Sussex GOP Committee. The final bit of business Monday night was a motion concerning how the money would be spent concerning the candidates school and which candidates would be supported. Not really important how the vote went. What was funny was how Chairman Carroll went about calling for the vote.
And I quote, ” If you vote yes, then we have to stay here and figure out how to do this, if you vote no, then we can go home.” Not surprising, the committee voted no and went home. There is the dedication of this so-called committee. But one might consider, like government, the less time they are in session, the less damage they can do.
I have never believed that political signs do anything at all to elect a candidate. Who votes based on how many signs they see? Hopefully, nobody.
That may be true Rick, but the question is, do I have the right to place them in my yard or on my property as I see fit?
What about cutting a 100′ x 300′ “TRUMP” in a field ?
I consider that to be free expression, and I would say that there is a level of art to it as well.
Since this is also an open thread ,I’m going to give a good example of why Trump is so popular.
While Trump is meeting with Paul Ryan at the Capitol at this moment, immigration activists are outside chanting on a bull horn, “undocumented, and unafraid”.
That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.
Clarification: Not at the actual Capitol building, but the GOP headquarters in Washington.
“limiting the types of signs which private owned businesses can erect, on private property.”
If I own property adjacent to RT1, and I post a large sign with lights informing travelers that RT1 Southbound is closed for repair south of 5 points or perhaps stating the entire area is closed due to riots. Is that merely exercising my right to free expression? Are there any limits to my right of free expression?
“There is currently a bill in the Senate that would consolidate all three of the county’s Register of Wills offices ”
This would actually be good government since the offices merely implement state law and do nothing that is specific to the county. One minor thought is that these little row offices are opportunities for those with political aspirations to “audition” for a more important office. However, that is such a small thing that it really is of no consequence. Even so, I fail to see how this is local control of anything since the office complies with state law and does the state’s bidding. What local control do they have?
FBH, I agree with you field cutting, even though I don’t agree with the message. Dave there are laws concerning the types of signs, size. With this political sign issue we are talking about what the sign says.
County Council cannot restrict political signs on private property. DelDOT does restrict them on public rights-of-way to certain time periods before elections.
As for getting rid of the Register of Wills as an elected office, they should include the Clerk of the Peace and Recorder of Deeds as well and consolidate them into an appointed county clerk (similar to the appointment of the county administrator).
Tensions in the South China Sea is escalating. Both China and Russia have developed hypersonic nuclear delivery systems that supposedly can skirt our missile defense systems.
The US has activated it’s planned missile defense system in Romania, and Russia is taking it as a threat.
But, no worries people. The idiots on both sides of the isle are taking care of our bathroom issues.
Here’s a suggestion: If you look like a woman, go in the women’s room. If you look like a man, then go in the men’s room. No one will no different.
If you look like a man dressed as a woman, or a woman dressed as a man, well, that exceeds my pay grade, but may I suggest that possibly there is another look you could go for.
BTW, according to State Rep. Rich Collins, who said, “have at it”; anybody can use whatever bathroom or bathhouse they want, right now in Delaware.
Tensions in the South China Sea is escalating. Both China and Russia have developed hypersonic nuclear delivery systems that supposedly can skirt our missile defense systems.
The US has activated it’s planned missile defense system in Romania, and Russia is taking it as a threat.
No sane leader will start a nuclear war. Unfortunately, Iranian Muslim leaders are insane. And so are their terrorist operatives, worldwide.
Of course, the modern way to annihilate an enemy population is through biological or chemical means. This is the future of “warfare” on a large scale. To the madman, is seems like a rather innocuous means of destruction when compared to a mushroom cloud and radioactive fallout. And this is when the mistake will be made, and the consequences may well be the end of most if not all of mankind.
Which, from the perspective of the rest of the life on Earth, would be a blessing.
Some future being, a million years from now, upon examining some remnant of homo sapien civilization might ask “what killed them?”
Probably an astroid.
Rick, you left out the part about Jesus coming back. Nobody needs to worry about any of that stuff, because the worse we can help make things, then the closer we are to that blessed day when we finally will get someone in the White House and push that big red button that makes Jesus come back.
I’m sure Trump will have it right next to one of those “That Was Easy!” buttons from Staples. Whatever.
“the worse we can help make things, then the closer we are to that blessed day….”
Yes, the eschatological prophecies in the Abrahamic religions is commonly accepted by true believers , and none more so than in Islam, where large segments of that religion are actively engaged in that dogma in hopes that it will come to fruition sooner rather than later.
I’m not concerned about the South China Sea, Romania, Russia, China, Iran or any of the hobgoblins conjured up to frighten credulous people into voting Republican.
Rick, you left out the part about Jesus coming back. Nobody needs to worry about any of that stuff, because the worse we can help make things, then the closer we are to that blessed day when we finally will get someone in the White House and push that big red button that makes Jesus come back.
I don’t “worry about that stuff” either. Nor am I religious. I am merely making an observation. Biological and chemical weapons exist. And more are being developed. I don’t believe that it is beyond the scope of possibility that some germ or other bizarre entity might be released- purposely or accidentally- that could doom mankind.
If one looks back at history, it would be quite logical to assume that man’s propensity for destruction will continue. Times have changed, but man hasn’t. Read the Bible, Horace, Shakespeare, Pope, Dickens and so on, and it will be obvious that man is still man, virtually unchanged over the millennia. And among men, from time-to-time, arrives a player on the world stage who is nothing less than evil incarnate. And absolute evil, unrestrained by any semblance of conscience, has access to and may well utilize in a fit or rage, destructive powers unimagined by Alexander, Attila, Napoleon, Hitler or Stalin.
I’m not saying that it must happen or will happen- just that it might happen.
Damn, did Rick just describe the danger of a Trump administration?
No, the worse Trump would do is use nukes in Europe.
I heard zombie horseshoe crabs have been pulling people out of their cars and eating them as they sit in traffic
“And absolute evil, unrestrained by any semblance of conscience, has access to and may well utilize in a fit or rage, destructive powers unimagined by Alexander, Attila, Napoleon, Hitler or Stalin.”
I do not imagine that even Genghis Khan could have withstood the type of attack Trump would launch in one of his regular Twitter-fits, in which Mr. Trump demonstrates his utter lack of self control.
Mr. Trump demonstrates his utter lack of self control.
To the left, “lack of self control” is code for “dangerous, raving lunatic.” Trump’s boundless energy may seem hyperactive and outlandish when contrasted with the catatonic Hillary. Trump is real, and that is surely part of his appeal, especially when compared to Hillary’s lethargic, boring dramatic soliloquies, more suited for the Kennedy Center than the White House.
“Trump is real”. Really Rick? Real? if you think what Trump is doing is real, then you must also think Tinker Bell is real. He is a sideshow carnie. Nothing more.
I thought reality shows were staged?
….if you think what Trump is doing is real, then you must also think Tinker Bell is real.
Trump is real. He wears his emotions on his sleeve. He is unscripted.
But, it is you who can’t differentiate his bombast from what would be his policy positions. You take everything he says literally. Has it ever occurred to you that if he were the genuine “loose cannon” that you and Hillary claim him to be, he would never have been able to build a real estate empire around the world?
Developing real estate requires instinct, cajoling and negotiation, with both private individuals and with various local, state and federal entities. A totally out-of-control, boorish buffoon simply would not be able to build a real estate empire, because no one would deal with them.
I notice the polls are beginning to tighten, and more vacillating “independents” are leaning toward Trump than Hillary. Trump is also polling higher with Hispanics (as I predicted he would) than Romney carried in ’12. He will absolutely carry the white blue-collar vote in PA and OH, and if he carries Pittsburgh- and thus, PA- he will be the next president.
Hillary’s approval numbers are frozen- Trump still has a significant up side. With disgruntled Sanders supporters sitting this one out, it looks good for the Trump-O-P.
Rick, it is pointless to discuss Trump’s behavior with you, your comments for years are perfectly in line with his pandering behavior.
As for polling, well of course his numbers are rising, because people who supported the other candidates in the primaries are now jumping, not unusual. His favorable will also go up some because if you are going to vote for someone, you will most likely change your opinion of them, it’s called lying to yourself.
Hillary will see a similar rise once the primary is over, it will take longer because sanders has said he will stay till the end.
And once again, we are talking about two different things, you are talking about winning, I am talking about the quality of the man if he does win. Not every person who has won, has been a good president, have they?
Not every person who has won, has been a good president, have they?
No, but you usually make that determination after they’ve served, not before.
Tinker Bell’s not real? And I always wanted her to sprinkle some magic dust on me.