DL Open Thread: Thursday, October 24, 2024
Monique Johns Is Who We Thought She Was. A grifter only in it for personal gain. Rarely has our Tip Line lit up (OK, the Tip Line doesn’t technically light up, but bear with me here) as it has. for what is the first of what presumably will be many attempts to rip off the taxpayers by the Democratic nominee for New Castle County President Monique Johns. She hasn’t been elected yet, but…
You may want to review the NCC Council Finance Committee, starting at time stamp 1:10:00 under the agenda item “other.” The Democratic Candidate for Council President came in to request approval of an expenditure of $1,250 to fund a caterer for a separate swearing-in for her. This request was being made despite the election not yet taking place. NCC is facing a budget shortfall and likely a tax increase. Yet a candidate for office is asking to spend public funds for a “party” for herself. She was also a bit indignant that she was not informed about the time of the “swearing-in,” but she has an opponent, so she is not legally yet the Council President-elect…
Been holding off on discussing the brilliant Spotlight Delaware series by Nick Stonesifer on Bethany Hall Long’s Opioid Slush Fund as the third installment of the three-part series hasn’t yet been posted. But the first two articles will fill in a lot of gaps for you:
https://spotlightdelaware.org/2024/10/22/delaware-opioid-fund-part-1/
https://spotlightdelaware.org/2024/10/23/delaware-opioid-fund-part-2/
We’ll no doubt write extensively about this once the final article drops, as the details of this scandal require the public disinfectant of sunlight.
Why The Bleep Hasn’t Kamala Harris Responded To This Ad? Every time I see it, I just know it’s having an impact. Especially since the answer is that she’s following the same law that Trump did. Political malpractice.
The big joke on democracy is that it gives its mortal enemies the tools to its own destruction.
Josef Goebbels
Just thought I’d drop that in here. Along with the observation that anyone who yearns for Hitler’s generals is not only ignorant of military history, but is a Fascist:
A desire to force U.S. military leaders to be obedient to him and not the Constitution is one of the constant themes of Trump’s military-related discourse. Former officials have also cited other recurring themes: his denigration of military service, his ignorance of the provisions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, his admiration for brutality and anti-democratic norms of behavior, and his contempt for wounded veterans and for soldiers who fell in battle.
Just Another Law-Abiding Citizen–with 120 guns and over 250,000 rounds of ammo:
“The big joke on democracy is that it gives its mortal enemies the tools to its own destruction.”
The paradox of tolerance states that if a society’s practice of toleration includes the intolerant, intolerance will ultimately dominate, eliminating both the tolerant and the practice of tolerance.
And let’s not forget she stole Kevin Hensley’s campaign literature while canvassing in 2018: https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/local/caught-on-cam-del-state-rep-candidate-steals-opponents-campaign-literature-from-outside-home/182476/?amp=1
Hopefully a serious candidate like Terrell Williams has a better chance against him in a presidential year.
Anyway, are any journalists going to cover all of her controversies, especially with early voting tomorrow? And why hasn’t there been more fundraising for the R side on Brayman, who could win it if more voters were aware?
Well, I’ve heard talk of council president being eliminated, so maybe Johns will be bad enough that they can justify it somehow? I don’t know what the process would look like.
The third installment of the Spotlight Delaware series on BHL’s Opioid Slush Fund has just dropped. It is must-reading:
https://spotlightdelaware.org/2024/10/24/delaware-opioid-fund-part-3/
Some key takeaways from the Spotlight Delaware article:
“But two years and $15 million later, those recipients spent most of their time on prevention education efforts like community events, pamphleting, swag, youth sports, student presentations and TikTok videos rather than offering direct treatment services.
The state pushed out dozens of six-figure grants to organizations, some of which had little experience in substance abuse prior to their awards.
“…a Spotlight Delaware examination of POSDC grant reports up until Aug. 29, shows prevention efforts accounted for nearly 60% of how grantees are spending their time. The second highest category with 30% of efforts was harm reduction, which includes distribution of drug testing kits and naloxone, a medication capable of reversing the effects of a potentially fatal overdose.
Only 13% of efforts went to direct treatment, including entry into detox, enrollment into medication-assisted treatment programs, and funding peer-support services.”
There’s a litany of ties from organizations who received grants to BHL in the article. Check this one out:
“Nearly all of the organizations that accepted grants are based in Delaware. But one organization, the Richard J. Caron Foundation, a nonprofit organization that operates a national network of Caron Treatment Centers, is based in Pennsylvania and has no facility in Delaware.
It was awarded more than $100,000 to do research and establish training materials for Delaware doctors to understand the warning signs and treatment of substance abuse in elderly patients. Hall-Long has boosted Caron in the past few years, and accepted an award from the organization at its 2022 gala.”
The problem in a nutshell: BHL and the Delaware Way treated this as a pot of free money to be doled out to the the usual suspects.
This is enough money to make a dent in the problem, but only if it is kept together in one pot and used to set up more treatment beds.
Sadly, this is not just a Delaware problem. It’s being treated much the same way all over the country, which is why people are disgusted enough with politics to think that fascism is a solution.
And I love the headline: Most of the money has been spent on “prevention.” So, basically, fuck all the people who are already hooked – y’know, the ones actually at risk of adding to the fatality statistics.
All while these assholes give each other awards, never realizing they are part of the problem, not the solution.
I’m pretty sure BLH just told her cabal of grifters “just do something to make it look like you’re trying. Here’s $00k make a tik tok or something”
It’s also extremely ineffective prevention. There has been a ton of research on what types of drug prevention works and what doesn’t work.
They are funding the stuff that doesn’t work.
The Caron Foundation’s leaders are also BHL campaign donors.
CEO John Driscoll donated $1,000 to her governor campaign.
And Marguerite Schroeder, Chair of Caron’s regional advisory board, donated $1,200 to the campaign.
The story was good and well researched but incomplete but not for lack of effort. Hopefully reporting will continue. The actual situation is far worse. I am hopeful and have reason to trust that the incoming administration will stop the gravy train and get priorities in order. The need is great and these funds are precious. Suffering Delawareans need real help ASAP!
I don’t care if she’s a Democrat or not. Anyone with any ethical background cannot vote for Monique. This is only the surface of her self serving interests….
Not like a GOP member surrounded by 12 Dems is gona advance any republican causes anyway.
Count me as an anyone but Monique Dem.
I was going to ask what would be the downside of voting for her opponent.
I haven’t voted for a Republican since Margo Ewing Bane ran for prothonotary. This may be the second time.
I forgot to add…. that lavender in the parks is looking a whole lot better.
We will forever look back on this year and think, “We could have had lavender instead.”
If frankel didn’t run such a stupid campaign based on that dumb ass idea he might of actually won.
I don’t think that was the problem.
The problem was the lack of ranked choice voting.
Bingo
Two candidates running in the same anti-development lane didn’t help either of them.
I’d probably have put Frankel last in ranked-choice voting.
Larry Mitchell was considered Delaware’s laziest legislator, which he could afford to be when also collecting a payout from Del-Tech as ‘Director Of Security’. It’s why DeShanna Neal knocked him off.
He has now endorsed the Rethug challenger to DeShanna Neal:
“I’m very honored that the Honorable John “Larry” Mitchell has endorsed my candidacy! State Representative Mitchell served our community for many years and fought tirelessly for bipartisan solutions in Dover.” (Editor’s Note: No he didn’t.)
For those of you with short memories, this Rappa is indeed the heir to the unethical Rappa machine, as in ‘shoeboxes full of money’ during the years that Gene Reed was the Democratic NCC Chair. So it’s entirely in character for a double-dipper who committed fraud by taking money for work he didn’t do to endorse him.
Birds of a feather…
To be fair, we actually would want Trump to have generals like Hitler had.
Hitler’s generals tried to assassinate him several times in order to prevent the destruction of Germany. He HATED his generals – that’s what that whole “Hitler reacts to…” scene from the movie “Downfall” is all about.
“Sadly, this is not just a Delaware problem. It’s being treated much the same way all over the country, which is why people are disgusted enough with politics to think that fascism is a solution.”
Reminds me that Mussolini “Made the trains run on time”, and that was enough to do it. Also that while the political class is a failure, so is the electorate.
In truth, he did not make the trains run on time, which is yet another point of commonality between Il Duce and Il Douche – myths based on lies.