I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend, I hope that Tony DeLuca enjoyed a terrorist-free Memorial Day weekend, and I hope that Monsignor Greg Lavelle stopped crying about ‘gerrymandering’ long enough to spout inanities about what it means to be patriotic. Well, crying has never stopped Lavelle from spouting inanities. He can and has done both at the same time.
Even when the General Assembly is out of session, we can generally count on DeLuca and Lavelle to offer up their comic stylings. We’ll start with the lesser of the two–Lavelle. Ten years after Wayne Smith drew the pious Monsignor a district that was ‘sawtooth-like’ to protect him, Lavelle whined about ‘gerrymandering’, meaning he got drawn into a district with a fellow Rethug, the Billionaires’ Best Friend, Debbie Hudson. For those so inclined, wander over to the Department of Elections, look at Lavelle’s current district RD 11, then check out the proposed RD 12, which is slated to be Lavelle and Hudson’s new home. You tell me which district describes the term ‘gerrymandered’.
Memo to Greg Lavelle: You got ten years that you didn’t deserve, courtesy of blatant gerrymandering. Please shut up now. I know you’re concerned about who will take up the cause of poor misunderstood pedophile priests in your absence, but don’t worry. Republicans have always taken up the cause of powerful evil overlords. Someone will be there to take your place.
A first-ballot selection, I might add:
Attorney General Beau ‘Beaudhisattva’ Biden contorted himself into a Rosemary Woods-like pretzel and applied an anti-terrorism statute, let me repeat that–an anti-terrorism statute–to justify withholding the hours that Tiny Tony DeLuca allegedly shows up for, and leaves, his $68,000 ‘job’ at the Department of Labor. Has absolutely nothing to do with the possibility that perhaps, just perhaps, he’s not working the required hours. Or even showing up. Trust the AG.
I could just stop there–but, naaah, where’s the fun in that? Let me ask the first of several obvious questions: How in hell can Biden claim with a straight face that Tony DeLuca is susceptible to any kind of terroristic threat? By whom? Bloggers? Hell, he’s far too much fun to have around and write about. Plus, we’re a notably sedentary and non-violent lot. Slashing tires is not our style. Even if someone, ANYone, harbored ill intentions to do bodily harm to DeLuca, a terrorist??? Really??? If Biden was operating as an Attorney General instead of as a protector of an unworthy pol, he would recognize, and perhaps investigate, the manner in which DeLuca has subverted public trust in government. He’d be investigating whether DeLuca is actually spending the hours required of a full-time state employee. In other words, DeLuca undermines confidence in government all by himself. Why would terrorists go after someone who does their job for them?
Finally, if Tony DeLuca faces no terrorist threat, then why in hell is Biden using a totally inapplicable statute to justify keeping DeLuca’s-comings-and-goings secret? Don’t bother answering, it’s a rhetorical question.
I lived through the (Jane) Brady years, and there were some unbelievable opinions that oozed out from under her office door. But this ‘written-to-spec’ opinion makes a mockery of something called the Department of Justice and its current AG. If Biden doesn’t change his tune on this, I will not be supporting him next time he runs for anything, and I’ll go out of my way to let people know why.
Speaking of the Delaware Way and not supporting people for reelection, I can’t let this latest story about Jack Markell and jobsjobsjobs go without comment. As to whether or not there should be a new medical facility in Middletown and/or whether there should be an independent quasi-governmental board ‘charged with scrutinizing and approving public health care developments’, I’ll leave that up to the General Assembly and the Governor. However, that’s the current law, and Gov. Markell went to extreme lengths to subvert the law and the workings and the recommendations of this board:
“…review committee members said that despite an unprecedented level of political meddling — including the appointment of six newcomers to the 17-member board in early May by Markell — they were not convinced there’s a need for the hospital. The duty of the independent board is to foster cost-effective and efficient use of health care resources, including preventing excess capacity, board members say.”
Because, to Gov. Markell, ‘jobsjobsjobs’ justifies a new medical facility, regardless of whether, you know, people would actually use it. I don’t really have a problem with that. It’s the blatant attempt to fix the game. Governor, if you don’t like the rules, you have the power to change the rules by getting the General Assembly to change the laws. Packing an independent agency to get your way mocks the very notion of citizen participation in government.
And, it almost wouldn’t be a ‘Delaware Way’ story without Bloated Bobby Byrd, one of Delaware’s most notorious lobbyist/fixers, and a man who held the dubious distinction of lobbying the Minner Administration on behalf of his multitude of clients while also working for–the Minner Administration. He’s been retained by the company that wants to build and run the facility. Allow this fixer to rationalize the stacking of the board by Markell:
Byrd said the process has been difficult because the application is “very sophisticated” and one that had not been seen by the board before.”The board and staff have been challenged,” Byrd said.
One of the board members who was curtly dismissed was Hans Francke. I’ve known Francke for probably close to 50 years now. To this day, I have no idea what his party affiliation is. What I do know is that he has a brilliant analytical mind, is neither partisan nor doctrinaire, and is precisely the type of person who Markell should thank his lucky stars takes his role as a citizen volunteer seriously. For someone as unprincipled and demonstrably unethical as Bobby Byrd to even imply that his client’s end-run around the existing rules is running into difficulty due to the ‘sophistication’ of the proposal and the inability of people like Hans Francke to somehow grasp it is deplorable. But Bobby Byrd doesn’t get paid for HIS analytical mind or sophistication, he gets paid for access and influence. That Jack Markell is all too willing to take on such an oleaginous co-conspirator means that Jack Markell is willing to embrace the worst of the Delaware Way to achieve his goal of jobsjobsjobs, regardless of the consequences. He has become, sadly, a jobs whore. He’s just dickering over the cost. He clearly doesn’t care that the cost includes making invaluable Delawareans like Hans Francke unwelcome as citizen volunteers. I do. Seriously, Governor, your cavalier approach here is shameful.
Not much time or room left to talk about what’s coming up today in the Delaware General Assembly. The caucuses will have much more action than the sessions themselves. Members of the Joint Finance Committee will brief their respective caucuses on the status of their deliberations. Plus, there’s this little matter called redistricting. House Rethugs, in particular, will have to decide whether they might marshal a court challenge. It’d take a lot of chutzpah for them to do so, especially when you contrast their blatant 2002 gerrymandering with a much cleaner 2012 plan offered by the House D’s. But chutzpah has never stopped Rethugs before, especially with all the partisan hacks that Bush put on the courts with the acquiescence of D’s like Tom Carper. Maybe they’ll draw one of their bought-and-paid-for minions. Unlikely, though. They’re screwed, basically.
Ah, yes, the agendas. If you’ve read this far, this may well be when you stop reading. But not before I let you all know that I’ll be on the Al Mascitti Show TODAY, Tuesday, May 31, 10 a.m., WDEL-1150. Ya think, based on this column, that we might have a few things to talk about? Monsignor Lavelle, Beau Biden, Brian Selander, you and any and all others, are welcome to call in. And I haven’t yet mentioned El Somnambulo’s profound sorrow upon learning of the passing of Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage, but he will on Al’s show.
OK, OK, the agendas. The Senate agenda here. The House agenda here.
Trenchant legislative analysis? Tomorrow. Maybe.