DL Open Thread: Sunday, January 26, 2025
Post-Democracy America Day 6: Trump Destroys The EPA:
President Trump is stocking the Environmental Protection Agency with officials who have served as lawyers and lobbyists for the oil and chemical industries, many of whom worked in his first administration to weaken climate and pollution protections.
Top appointees include David Fotouhi, Mr. Zeldin’s second-in-command, a lawyer who recently challenged a ban on asbestos; Alex Dominguez, a former oil lobbyist who will work on automobile emissions; and Aaron Szabo, a lobbyist for both the oil and chemical industries who is expected to be the top air pollution regulator.
President Donald Trump has withdrawn a Biden administration plan to set new limits on chemical discharge into drinking water.
State regulators around the U.S. had been waiting for the Environmental Protection Agency to take the lead on PFAS requirements so they could incorporate effective monitoring and treatment into their discharge permits.
Without new federal limits, those efforts are stalled, according to the nonprofit Environmental Working Group in Washington, D.C.
PFAS are forever chemicals that have been linked to serious health problems, including cancer, immune suppression and developmental harm. They are widely used in products like nonstick pans, waterproof clothing, soaps and shampoos.
‘Eat The Billionaires’: More great advice from Josh Marshall that will likely go unheeded. You know, because of our billionaires:
AP has a new poll out which asked whether people think it’s a good or bad thing that the President “relies on billionaires for advice about government policy.” When I first saw the results of this poll as “good” coming in at “+12” I thought they meant “net” 12% and I thought, “eeeesh, the honeymoon phase is more intense than I thought!” But no, 12%: as in, 12% of the public think it’s a good thing. 60% think it’s not. That’s U.S. adults. The only outliers are Republicans, 20% of whom think this is a good thing. But even that is pretty feeble. To put it simply, these are terrible numbers.
On its own I’m not sure surrounding yourself with billionaire friends is a major voting issue. But it’s unlikely to stay on its own since we’re about to see huge shifts in fiscal policy which favor billionaires at the expense of everyone else. The biggest point is that Democrats need to make it salient. But these numbers show there’s very fertile ground for doing so.
Testosterone Overload? Perhaps you can provide a better explanation as to Sen. Townsend’s animus towards Matt Meyer:
On Jan. 20, the day before Meyer became governor, then-Gov. Bethany Hall-Long nominated prominent labor leaders James Ascione, William Ashe and Curtis Linton, along with former Board of Pilot Commissioners Chair Robert Medd. She also re-nominated former Delaware Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock and the board’s former chairman.
While the nominations appeared to be a surprise to Meyer, a spokesperson for Hall-Long said the nominations were made in consultation with Senate leadership. Meyer sent senators a letter Tuesday asking for those nominations to be withdrawn after being asked about them by reporters. He said he would be submitting his own in the days ahead, which may or may not include some of the names Hall-Long suggested.
“Those who lose elections don’t get to make appointments,” said Nick Merlino, Meyer’s deputy chief of staff.
As to Sen. Townsend?:
Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend said Hall-Long duly made the nominations during her time as governor and he doesn’t think which governor’s name is on the nominations has a direct connection to the voters.
Townsend did not clearly answer whose nominations the Senate would take up, but left the door open for the Senate to disregard Meyer’s picks in favor of Hall-Long’s.
“Right now we have Gov. Hall Long’s nominees that are submitted to the Senate. Gov. Meyer sent a letter that we believe presented an inaccurate, to put it mildly, framing of the Delaware Constitution and what its powers are,” he said.
Oh. Forget about the ‘framing of the Delaware Constitution’. Focus on what is fair. Ya wanna have a, you know, ‘measuring contest’? Fine. Just don’t try to couch it as something it is not. Four years of this kind of pettiness will get neither Townsend or Meyer or the State, for that matter, anywhere. Find common ground.
What do you want to talk about?
I want to talk about yet another supposed progressive champion having feet of clay.
My condolences to all who put their faith in Mr. Townsend.
Townsend is also pushing a bill that strips away the civil rights of people accused of… accused of… certain crimes. So, yeah. Auditioning for the role of Pete?
I think two things can be true.
1) The Dover creatures wanted Bethany to win because comfort is their best friend. None of those people down there really liked Matt because he “wasn’t one of them” aka a state legislator/staffer etc.
2) Matt Meyer is kind of a pompous ass so I get it.
None of these people are perfect and to climb the political ranks you can’t be a nun or priest. I got it.
However, Matt won, yes he’s an ego maniac with a terrible style of sketchers with a suit but he should have the ability to appoint his own people. The Dover creatures may want to argue a technicality here but cmon…..we all see it for what is is.
Bethany is no more, Val is no more, Bryan adjust and pivot with the times.
Townsend needs to get over his own failings and jealousy. This is ridiculous. For a guy who is allegedly so savvy about optics – he doesn’t seem to understand he looks like an asshole.
Bullock has had a role in the port for 16 years. It is a failure. Why would you double down on a failed leader? Whose only qualifications appear to be bending the knee for those in power?
Also – wasn’t he in charge of the elections department? It’s not under State? I’d love to hear more about his role in Bethany’s campaign finance woes.
Delaware is one of the only states (perhaps the only one) where elections are not under the purview of the Secretary Of State.
The people of Delaware didn’t want her making decisions like this. End of story.
Any attempt to justify this bullshit from Townsend is just rules lawyering. “Well, technically…”
How much more of this tomfoolery before he makes himself a target for unseating?
Good morning, Sarah, I know you are trying to be above the fray but these monsters are trying to end you! Could we see a little more fire, please?
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/01/marco-rubio-suspends-passports-applications-with-changes-to-gender-marker/
“more fire”
You know that’s not Sarah’s style . What do you want her to do, get a bunch of tats, dye her hair pink, and march around with a rainbow flag?
Heated rhetoric is worse than useless at this time and plays into MAGA hands. Best chance is to quietly build a good test case for a court challenge.
I agree. She has made this point again and again. She is not confrontational, and she is not there to be a gender warrior.
I appreciate that she’s showing the rest of these poor-imitation-of-a-TV-personality wannabes what the job is supposed to be.
Truly horrid that the norm for the GOP is to deadname McBride everywhere. Announced opponent Donyale Hall 2026 campaign supporters are full on with the insult on social media. DE GOP is as terrible as it appears.
Also, Meyer’s EO no. 4 exhalts his proposed affordable housing committee as if it were going to put forward actual deliverables for the unhoused when it is more geared to developer wet dream advantages. Wait and see on that one.
Additionally, its only Newark but the Newark Charter School – which has Melanie George Smith on its Board – is causing a major stink for cutting a deal behind closed doors to ruin a nice chunk of city park woodland for a new baseball field “for the children” with all of the advantages in the NCS column and none to little for the community. Public land takeover discussion is tomorrow night at City Hall.
Facebook commentary from a Mr. Zorach:
“I oppose this. I see a bunch of major concerns:
* The loss of wild forest at a time when Newark has committed to increasing its tree canopy cover. This land is currently growing up with wild forest. Wild forest has much more ecological value than parkland with planted trees. Some of the value includes habitat for animals, protecting our native plant populations, reducing flooding by increasing percolation of water into soil, and evapotranspiration. Moderating the climate. Clearing wild land to build athletic fields is NOT something I would ever support, especially in a town like Newark where there is tons of vacant industrial land, under-utilized parking lots, and unutilized expanses of mowed lawn (like FMC’s campus right across the street from Charter) that would all make more logical development sites for athletic fields.
* This is using public land and handing it to a charter school which is a hybrid public-private entity…not truly public. I wouldn’t even support this if it were a public school, but the fact that it’s a charter school which isn’t fully accessible to the whole public, makes it worse IMHO.
* It isn’t even that near Charter. This is going to then create more traffic with people driving to and from this area. I think we would do better to brainstorm and find ways to help Charter to expand closer to its existing campus.”
tats…good one. That is a real strawman version of pushback. I abhor the Dems who resort to the sternly worded press release to express “grave concerns” but I’d take even that now.
Anyhow, maybe that memo is undergoing it’s final draft about now. In the meantime, I wonder if Auschwitz was full of people comforted by the fact that they quietly held the moral high ground? And if you think pondering comparisons to Nazi Germany are off base you may be guilty of still not taking the MAGA at their word.
See Josh Shannon’s update–the proposal is tabled and there will be a public hearing. Also on city website.
Birth certificates are issued by the states, and 16 states allow an X marker for gender. There is a good states’ rights argument for requiring the federal government to honor state-issued birth certificates.
IANAL but I think the right to travel should take precedence over the feds “right” to only recognize M-F and I think even this Supreme Court might agree.
Then there are the cases of people who had passports issued with one gender, but now want passports issued under a new gender (F to M, or vice versa). If your state has reissued your birth certificate, the feds should honor it.
A good test case would be a trans (veteran, perhaps?) who is refused a new passport under a different gender with their new birth certificate.
My comment didn’t show up –
Here’s one more comment from Newark Councilman Jay Bancroft about the secret deal for Newark Charter School taking over a public park
Folk park item 6a.
There has not been any public vetting on the park proposal, and much more input is needed before moving to a decision. There needs to be more thought on how this harms and benefits our local community.
I have been contacted by 10+ residents, who are very concerned about loss of green space and traffic issues.
Also very important, this would favor a charter school, which a politically sensitive issue.
When I heard in January about this proposal, my initial thought was
I’d rather see this stay wild. That is also the sentiment of the many constituents I’ve heard from.
After seeing opposition to the loss 5+ acres of trees, a migigation idea is being hatched. This plan is not in compliance with the Comprehensive devt plan, our main guiding document.
What does Newark high school think of this deal with the city?
This isn’t private rights but the city’s public land, and the residents should be given ample opportunity to weigh in on design. It is your public land so please participate – ask about what careful vetting is being proposed?
Got that first one up, thanks for the heads-up. Might have been too long for the filter.
If Matt truly wanted to do something about affordable housing, didn’t he have eight years in Delaware’s most populous county to do so? Never mind, rhetorical question.
Now the City of Newark sounds just like DNREC, thinking public parks and lands are available for development, a la Cape Henlopen restaurant, Auburn Valley/Yorklyn, Grassdale at Fort du Pont, and Fox Point State Park. These takings of public park land and loss of woodlands need to stop.
Yeah, right, people definitely would have supported a tax increase for the county to build affordable housing. That’s just bullshit.
A baseball field hardly equals “development.” That’s turning it from passive to active parkland, though I certainly hope the city is making the school pay for the land.
What public land was used for development in Yorklyn?
Who said anything about a tax increase or the County building affordable housing? (But if you think that is bullshit you might study where some of the County money does go in that regard). Plenty else he could have done thru the land use process.
A baseball field for a school removes passive natural open space open to all users and wildlife, and converts it to one very specific use and limited audience, and apparently would remove a number of trees. Would be good to know how the property was acquired, with what funds, and under what if any restrictions.
Just google Auburn Valley and Yorklyn controversy over DNREC and land use…
Housing people is a lot cheaper than building houses. But go on, tell me how zoning was going to solve the problem of building housing.
Housing prices are based on land prices. Fuck with zoning and you fuck with people’s property values. Most people have most if not all of their personal net worth tied up in that property. Now do you understand?
If we were serious about housing the homeless, we’d do something about rehabbing the vacant properties in this country, which outnumber the homeless population by a factor of 10 to 1. There were, at last count, 1,400 in Wilmington alone.
The Auburn Valley and Yorklyn were not public property until NVF went belly-up and stuck the state with tens of millions in cleanup. People aren’t complaining about the park, they’re complaining about the planned townhouses, and mainly because there’s no sewer hookup.
1) Note to Townsend, conspiring with BHL is bad form, since she got a good thumping from the Delaware citizens. When our country is being turned into an anarchy, get behind our duly elected governor and unify to get our country back. Quit playing games.
2) With Trump’s EPA reversing regs that will hurt us, can we not issue state regs to in effect replace them here in Delaware?