Delaware: November 2007 Archives

Over at First State Politics, there's a petition worthy of your consideration.

While the state should have the flexibility to move funds from one account to another to cover contingencies, the routine use of one fund as an overdraft account for another shows an unwillingness to address underlying problems.

Signing the petition asks the Joint Finance Committee to put a stop to this irresponsible accounting practice.

This time it's Finance Department employees stealing your money:

Finance Department employees may have stolen as much as $1 million in the last two years using an intricate fraud scheme targeting refunds for unclaimed stock certificates, bank accounts and other abandoned assets that revert to state ownership.

Abandoned financial property -- known as escheat -- is one of the state's largest revenue sources, bringing in about $364.9 million last year alone. Money comes from abandoned assets that have been dormant for five or more years or unredeemed retail store gift cards.

As an aside - gift cards? Looks like they glossed over another type of theft. Next time I'm giving cash.

State Auditor R. Thomas Wagner Jr. says, "This could be the largest case of government fraud we've ever had...".

More later...

Update (11/06/07 10:58AM): Good Question.

I'm sure you've all heard the revelations about the University of Delaware's diversity training from Hot Air, Michelle Malkin, and others. Today the story merits front page above-the fold treatment at the Wilmington News Journal, our local daily paper. From the story by Beth Miller, a quote from one of the students who had to attend the training (emphasis added):

Brooke Aldrich considers herself open-minded and accepting of all kinds of people.

But the University of Delaware freshman said statements made in a recent diversity training session on her floor of Russell Hall tried to make her believe she was a racist.

"I personally have no problem with anyone of any background, race, sexual identity, or any religion," said the 18-year-old Hockessin resident, who is majoring in animal science. "I accept people for who they are as people. But coming out of the group sessions makes you feel as if I was in some way a racist, just by the color of my skin. It was like, 'Because you've never been oppressed, you're part of the problem.' "

Here's another from later in the article:

Aldrich said other exercises made many students feel uncomfortable. In one, she said, students were asked if they approved of such things as affirmative action or gay marriage. If they did, they would join students on one side of the room. If they didn't, they would join students on the other side of the room. They were not permitted to explain their reasons or to answer "I don't know," she said.

While this is now getting some attention and will likely be changed as a result, keep in mind that the program ran for four years before anyone heard about it. My question is how many more schools are doing this that we haven't yet heard about?

Update (11/1/2007 8:51 PM) As predicted, UD has discarded their indoctrination program. Good. Here's the post at FIRE's website.