DL Open Thread: Friday, June 7, 2024

When A Former US Solicitor General in the Obama Administration Litigates In Delaware–you can bet that the case is of some import. It is.  He’s arguing on behalf of the State against Rethug attempts to make it more difficult to vote.  The case is The Honorable Anthony J. Albence and State of Delaware Department of Elections v. Michael Mennella and The Honorable Gerald W. Hocker.  You will recall that the Rethugs triumphed at the Superior Court level in putting a halt to early voting and no-excuse absentee voting.  This was after the House Rethugs had voted en masse against the second leg of a Constitutional Amendment that would have enshrined these voting rights in the Delaware Constitution.  You can access all the briefs and the oral arguments right here.  The applicable case is the third one on the list.  I am more than pleasantly surprised that someone (the AG’s office?) has been able to get such a heavyweight attorney on board to argue for greater voting access.  A decision is expected some time in early-mid July.

Which One Of These Is Not Like The Other?  A simple chart displaying the incredible grift through gifting by the irredeemably corrupt Clarence Thomas.

Quintessentially-American John Deere Axes American Workers–Outsources Jobs To Mexico:

US workers at John Deere plants have accused the company of acting on “greed” as America’s most famous agricultural equipment company plans to shift more production to Mexico.

The company – famous for its green tractors and leaping deer logo – has announced layoffs of several hundred workers over the last several months with more layoffs planned for later this year.

“We get wind of more layoffs daily, it seems, and it’s causing uncertainty all over,” said a longtime John Deere worker at the Harvester Works plant in East Moline, Illinois, who requested to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. “The only reason for Deere to do this is greed.”

They cited the company’s recent profits. John Deere reported a profit of over $10bn in fiscal year 2023 and its CEO John May received $26.7m in total compensation. John Deere spent over $7.2bn on stock buybacks in 2023 and provided shareholders with more than $1.4bn in dividends.

Is jawboning still a thing?  If so, it wouldn’t hurt for Biden to break it out of his tool box.

Anthropomorphism Makes A Comeback?  Say what?  It means, sorta, finding human characteristics in your animal friends:

At the start of Elizabeth Hobson’s career as an ecologist, she knew to stick to one rule: Never anthropomorphize the animals you study.

For plenty of people, assigning human characteristics to another living creature feels natural enough that we do it as a matter of course. But to many scientists who study animal behavior, anthropomorphism is a cardinal sin, and suggesting that a researcher has tiptoed in that direction is tantamount to saying they’ve resorted to uninformed speculation. Hobson, who studies birds at the University of Cincinnati, told me that when she was trying to get a foothold in her field, the mere accusation of anthropomorphism might have been enough to ruin her credibility.

Not being a researcher, I’ve always found human characteristics in my pets–although you’re welcome to try to psychoanalyze our current dog as we’ve given up.  But, I digress:

But in recent years, a slow revolution has been unfolding among a contingent of animal-behavior researchers who argue that our impulses about other species, rooted in our own experiences of the world, are scientifically useful. Other animals do share our physiologies, habitats, and genes (to varying degrees); if anthropomorphism draws on those commonalities, it offers legitimate, testable ideas about other creatures’ experiences. For many animals, there’s even “a good case to be made that it’s the right approach to assume, until we know otherwise, that there’s similarity,” Amy Parish, a primatologist at the University of Southern California, told me. Besides, the idea that anthropomorphism, so ingrained in human nature, can be fully stamped out is a myth, Ambika Kamath, a behavioral ecologist who’s writing a book about animal behavior, said. If anthropomorphism can’t be eradicated, perhaps it can be tamed by scientists who learn to wield it wisely.

Hey, I’d already reached this conclusion.  How else to explain Ren And Stimpy, Pinky And The Brain, or Bojack Horseman?  I rest my case.

The Bureaucrats’ Response To Delaware Department Of Labor Embezzlement.  Yep, they’re promising a full report–once the General Assembly goes out of session.  My favorite defense, if one can call it that?  The embezzlement is unrelated to the scathing ‘unauditable’ report from the State Auditor.  Unrelated, one supposes, that both are standalone examples of rank incompetence  Check out what State Auditor Lydia York says:

“It is important to understand that the criminal activity described in recent media coverage did not contribute to the disclaimer of opinion on the (annual comprehensive financial report),” she wrote to lawmakers. “That disclaimer was solely related to accounting practices and internal controls within the Division of Unemployment.”

No, they were two separate examples of incompetence and malfeasance.  Only this poor excuse for an administration could somehow claim that, because there were two utter failures, it somehow reflects more favorably upon them.  Cue Rick Geisenberger and Karryl Hubbard:

A joint letter penned by Delaware Department of Labor Secretary Karryl Hubbard and Finance Secretary Rick Geisenberger on Tuesday, June 4, pledged to provide a “full accounting of findings and actions to date,” along with a recommended path forward for lawmakers to review in July.

In the letter to lawmakers, Hubbard and Geisenberger say media reports have “conflated” the embezzlement issue with the extensive problems plaguing the division that were underscored in a March 2024 special auditor report.

Might as well share the double-talk coming out of Carney because, as the Bee Gees sang, they’re only words:

“Our administration took this theft very seriously,” said Emily Hershman, a spokesperson for Carney. “The Delaware Department of Labor will be notifying the General Assembly this week that they will be providing a report in the coming weeks that outlines the timeline of events, communications, and attempts to recoup the money.”

Going out on a limb here: There is no way in Hell that we’re gonna get a full and transparent accounting from this administration on this total failure.

What do you want to talk about?