DL Open Thread: Thursday, October 5, 2023
Quick tip of the ‘Bulo Sombrero to the anonymous tipster who clued me into the Purzycki/Carney hand-off. We can all see how orchestrated this two-step was. By Buccini/Pollin and the Chamber, the entities that run the city. Keep those tips coming!
Guess Who’s Been Pulling The Strings From A Capitol Hill Basement. And tell me why he isn’t in jail yet:
On Wednesday morning, two Republicans who hours earlier had toppled Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House made a well-worn trek to a 19th-century brick townhouse a few blocks away from the Capitol and entered the cluttered sanctuary of Stephen K. Bannon’s recording studio.
Representatives Matt Gaetz of Florida, the instigator of the rebellion, and Nancy Mace of South Carolina, one of seven other Republican defectors, huddled with Mr. Bannon for a morning meeting ahead of a joint appearance on his “War Room” podcast.
“Tectonic plate shift here in the imperial capital,” Mr. Bannon told his listeners at showtime, while directing them to donate to his guests online. “We must stand in the breach now. We have to lance the boil that is K Street in this nation.”
From this cavelike studio not far from where Congress meets, Mr. Bannon, the former Trump adviser, has been stoking the chaos now gripping the Republican Party, capitalizing on the spectacle to build his own following and using his popular podcast to prop up and egg on the G.O.P. rebels.
Because chaos is the objective.
‘Terror Without A Body Count’. Who’s behind it? Bad actors, or one person with a compulsion?:
The wave of school shooting hoaxes is without precedent, education safety experts and law enforcement officials say. It’s part of a larger phenomenon known as “swatting,” where callers report nonexistent crimes with the goal of triggering a police response — preferably by SWAT teams — at the homes of enemies or celebrities.
The shooting hoax calls often come in waves, with multiple schools in a state targeted on the same day, and most are “remarkably similar,” said Drew Evans, the superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. More than 20 schools in the state were targeted in two separate incidents, one in September of last year and another this February.
Many of the calls have followed a distinct pattern, according to police reports and recordings reviewed by The Post.
A male voice says that he is inside a school and that multiple students are shot. Many times, he claims to be a teacher. He says he is in a particular classroom or a bathroom, and tells the police to hurry.
He speaks with a heavy accent (of course), police reports note. The calls first come in on non-emergency lines and are not recordings: The speaker interacts with dispatchers and responds to their questions.
In incidents in at least 12 states, The Post found, the numbers were provided by TextNow, a Canadian company that offers free calls using voice over internet protocol, or VoIP.
A fascinating and disturbing mystery story. And we didn’t even get to Ethiopia yet. But you can by reading the piece.
“The Trump Show Is Over”. That’s what NY AG Letitia James said when Trump finally bolted his civil trial for his return to Mar-A-Lago. Or as Carl Hiaasen calls it, Casa Bellicosa. (Read that book! you will thank me.) Trump falsely claimed that he was forced to spend his time at the trial. He wasn’t. He chose to go there for the purpose of whining to the press and to intimidate his enemies. One gag order later, he was gone. Great White Whale sightings from a ‘Trump Golf Resort’ coming soon.
A ‘political stunt’ and a ‘fundraising stop’ indeed.
‘Gobsmackingly Bananas’: Scientists place hottest September ever on Earth in alarming perspective:
The heat is the result of the continuing high levels of carbon dioxide emissions combined with a rapid flip of the planet’s biggest natural climate phenomenon, El Niño. The previous three years saw La Niña conditions in the Pacific Ocean, which lowers global temperature by a few tenths of a degree as more heat is stored in the ocean.
The scientists said that the exceptional events of 2023 could be a normal year in just a decade, unless there is a dramatic increase in climate action. The researchers overwhelmingly pointed to one action as critical: slashing the burning of fossil fuels down to zero.
The state of Delaware continues to aggressively advance its radical energy agenda.
A case in point is a lawsuit that state Attorney General Kathy Jennings filed against more than 30 energy companies.
The action alleges that the companies — including Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil — engaged in a “campaign of deception” about the existence, cause and effects of global warming. The action maintains the state will suffer from sea level rise, increased extreme weather and ocean acidification, and seeks compensatory and punitive damages.
It should be clear, even to those of us who are not attorneys, that this lawsuit is meritless, hypocritical and adds to the growing list of why quality employers may view Delaware as a hostile business environment. Over the last decade, companies have had additional costs imposed on them by new laws and burdensome regulations, while continuing to pay more for electricity than two-thirds of the nation. The disparity of the latter will grow with the future implementation of the mandatory purchase of offshore wind power — the most expensive way to produce commercial electricity.
BTW, kids? Anyone reading this who knows Rep. Jesse Vanderwende also knows that he didn’t write this. The Delaware House MAGAt Caucus is officially a direct subsidiary of that climate denialist from UD and his corporate enablers. All of these bozos are regurgitating his big oil-fueled propaganda.
What do you want to talk about?
Interesting, started hearing anti electric vehicle screeds on ROKU channels, filled with clever lines like “A radical plan to require all electric vehicles and ban gas powered cars”. Smelled of Big Oil at a distance, but strongly suspect it will not work, mega money behind it or not. Hard not to notice electric vehicles are everywhere as are hybrids, must admit had I the money I’d buy one tomorrow.
Pretty much every Delaware Rethuglican House member has ‘written’ a screed against EV’s and a ‘radical energy plan’. In fact, if you go over to Bay To Bay, many of them have written virtually the exact same screed for the opinion page. No doubt about it–it’s the UD climate denier and his big oil patrons.
Here’s virtually the exact same piece ‘written’ by Brian Pettyjohn that was printed in the News-Journal. They’re all going after AG Jennings and her lawsuit against polluters:
https://www.delawareonline.com/story/opinion/2023/09/22/delawares-focus-on-climate-could-derail-our-economy/70660316007/
US Department of Energy has a really interesting map of fuel/propulsion types for vehicles by state. Delaware’s link is below.
https://afdc.energy.gov/transatlas/#/?fuel=ELEC&state=DE
Proud to say my wife and I were one of the 400 EVs registered in 2017.
2017 Chev Bolt. 56000+ miles