The CHAIR of the House Education Committee LIES About Opt Out Bill Controversy #grammarmatters

Today, State Rep. Earl Jaques (who is also the Chair of the House Education Committee) finally responded to my Facebook post about the status of the opt out bill, House Bill 60.  He is claiming…well, sort of…that no bills were walked because of the non-existence of a quorum in the House Education Committee meeting last week.  Which is funny, because the other four bills show they are out of committee.  As for House Bill 60, it is still showing as “House Education Committee”.  It doesn’t say if it was released or not released.  Can someone please tell the right hand what the left hand is doing?

It is hard to know what he is saying because his grammar usage was…how shall I put this…without offending him…very poor.  For a Chair of the House Education Committee I would expect more, but I digress.  This led to some very hysterical responses by the way.  Which can be seen below…

Gotta love that Earl Jaques!  To be honest, aside from opt out bills, Earl and I get along very well.  I would love to know what it is about opt out that makes him so crotchety!  So if ALL bills were signed during the committee meeting, doesn’t that mean House Bill 60 should be on the House Ready List, meaning it gets a full House vote?  Why is it showing this:

Whereas, as an example, House Bill 193 shows it was released:

And by the way, Speaker of the House Pete Schwartzkopf never responded to my email.

The Kowalko-Schwartzkopf Battle Takes Center Stage At Legislative Hall On First Day

Ten days ago, Delaware House Speaker for the State of Delaware Pete Schwartzkopf kicked State Representative John Kowalko off the education committee and removed him as chair of the energy committee.  While Kowalko has been very outspoken about the decision, including having a press conference before the General Assembly convened on the first day of their legislative session, Schwartzkopf stayed silent on the issue.  Until today.

According to a report from Amy Cherry with WDEL, Schwartzkopf denied his decision was based on Kowalko’s stance on the priority schools which he has made very public.  According to the WDEL report, Schwartzkopf said the following:

He said “I don’t agree with the governor’s plan on the priority schools. I don’t agree that all the teachers up there should have to resign; I don’t think they should have to re-apply for their jobs. I don’t think these principals need to be moved out of their schools,” he said. “I’m directly opposed to it.”  

Cherry reported the following statement: The speaker said he’s been largely silent on the priority schools plan because it’s not a Sussex issue.

Thank the Lord this stuff doesn’t happen down in Sussex.  Newsflash Pete: You represent the state as Speaker of the House, not the county you live in.  How many other statewide issues do you stay silent on cause they happen in your neck of the woods?

 “You know, the bottom line is this, if he wants to come in and talk to me, that’s fine, I’ll sit here and talk with him. I don’t have a problem with that, but the committees aren’t changing.”

Way to be flexible there Pete.  Blame the guy for speaking out on an issue that you completely agree with but manage to stay silent on for over four months.

Meanwhile, at Kowalko’s press conference, the state representative told members of the public to:

“Send letters to every member of the General Assembly and demand they give you honest answers.”  “There are alterior motives at play here.” “41 people are chilled by this leadership attitude.” (speaking about the 41 state representatives)

Kowalko said he is not afraid of being marginalized in the caucus, but he does view Schwartzkopf’s decision as punitive and a punishment.  He views the often phrased “Delaware Way” as a “Department of closeness” and this way of doing things is “incestuous and cronyism”.  He believes the state should have an Inspector General to investigate and “patrol and police a willingness to hide things.”  This new agency, according to Kowalko, should have “no allegiance to anything.” Referring to the bias of the media in Delaware, Kowalko said “If we have silence of the media, we have silence of the public.”

I will definitely say I take Kowalko’s side on this matter, and not just because I agree with his opinions about the priority schools.  Cause I agree with Schwartzkopf’s newly found opinion as well.  I take issue with anyone doing something punitive for being an “activist”.  Someone who rallies the people is an activist.  So what exactly are you doing when you are trying to get their vote Mr. Speaker?

For more information on Schwartzkopf’s side, please read AND listen at http://www.wdel.com/story.php?id=65449

 

 

Kowalko Vs. Schwartzkopf, Press Conference 1/13/15 At Legislative Hall In Dover

After Delaware House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf gave State Representative John Kowalko the boot off of the House Education Committee and the House Energy Committee, thousands of Delawareans have voiced their displeasure at this action.  Kowalko has hit the papers, blogs and the radio since then.  Tomorrow, he is giving a press conference in his office at Legislative Hall in Dover.  Here’s what you can expect:

 

New Petition: Keep John Kowalko on the Education Committee

Citizens of Delaware, what House Speaker Peter Schwartzkopf did to John Kowalko is a violation of everything Democracy is supposed to be about.  Let’s get Mr. Kowalko back on the House Education Committee where he rightfully belongs!  You can be both an activist and a legislator Mr. Schwartzkopf.  If the heroes of the Revolutionary War weren’t activists, Mr. Schwartkopf wouldn’t even have the ability to be a speaker about anything!  It’s what this country was founded on and Delaware was the first state to sign the Constitution guaranteeing those rights.

Please sign the iPetition here: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/keep-delaware-state-representative-john-kowalko-on

Kowalko’s Wrath Against Schwartzkopf Causes Severe Climate Change In Delaware

As I write this, snow is falling fast and furious.  The only news I was able to read yesterday was the deliberate removal of Delaware State Representative John Kowalko from the House Education Committee by House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf.  I had no idea where this freak storm came from.  I firmly believe Kowalko is so pissed off at Schwartzkopf that he literally affected weather here in the 1st State.

As Delaware blogger Kavips pointed out very early this morning, hell hath no fury like a Kowalko scorned!

We need John’s voice now more than ever.  Having it bottled up in a committee where he is the lone dissenting vote, thereby silencing him for months from the public’s eye, would bode ill for all Delaware’s children… He is now free, (with no strings to hold him back) to plaster the Markell administration with tons of truth sticky-notes  Truths which will tie Markell up as he is forced to defend; something that has not happened yet in his six years.

This removal is probably the best thing that could have happened.  What will happen in the committee will still get relayed to John, he will continue to be on top of it, who can then relay it to Allan at noon and night… A much smarter move for Schwartzkoph would have been to have kept him on that committee, Tied down, bedazzled, and worn thin….

As far as its intimidative effect, that depends on what John accomplishes now as Delaware’s children’s advocate.  If he (and we), can make it so unacceptable to be viewed Schwartzkoph’s butt- clone, very few legislators will fall in line for fear of being voted out of office next election, This can easily happen  (No legislator votes for something he knows will get him fired in the next election)  now that children in Delaware finally have a advocate.

To read more of Kavips brilliant analogy, please read here: http://kavips.wordpress.com/2015/01/06/firing-of-john-kowalko-off-the-education-board/

Not sure if it’s snowing down in Rehobeth, but Dover looks like a Winter Wonderland.