DL Open Thread: Friday, February 7, 2025

Open Question:  Dan Cruce, where do you live?  Do you live in SD 1, or do you live in Suxco?  Y’see, it’s kinda important because you ran for office in SD 1, Democratic insiders nominated you to fill the term of Sarah McBride in SD 1.  If you don’t live in SD 1, you will be ineligible to hold office even if you win the Special Election on February 15.  So, will you please answer the question?  Especially since you’re on record stating how much you love living in Rehoboth?

Failing that, will somebody who represents what passes for the Democratic Party in Delaware please answer the question?  He’s your candidate, too.

For me, writing in Riley Figliola in SD 1 and/or writing in Shay Frisby in SD 5 are pretty much the only ethical choices we have in these not-so-Special Elections.  Speaking of Riley Figliola, the Rev has her on his latest podcast.

Trump/Musk Shut Down USAID:

The Trump administration plans to reduce the number of workers at the U.S. Agency for International Development from more than 10,000 to about 290 positions, three people with knowledge of the plans said on Thursday. 

U.S.A.I.D. officials were also told on Thursday that about 800 awards and contracts administered through the agency were being canceled, the three people said.

The moves also came just one day before almost all of the agency’s direct hires, including its roster of Foreign Service officers, will be put on indefinite administrative leave. In addition, almost all contractors will see their work orders terminated. Foreign Service officers will have 30 days to return to the United States.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who took control of U.S.A.I.D. as acting administrator on Monday, insisted during a Fox News interview this week that the takeover was “not about getting rid of foreign aid.”

“But now we have rank insubordination,” he said, adding that U.S.A.I.D. employees had been “completely uncooperative, so we had no choice but to take dramatic steps to bring this thing under control.”

Right. Rank insubordination made them do it.  BTW, canceled contracts?  Betcha most are with American contractors.  Including, wait for it, MAGAt farmers.

Two unions representing U.S.A.I.D. employees on Thursday filed a lawsuit over the cuts against President Trump, Mr. Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, along with the agency, the State Department and the Treasury Department. The suit argues that the reduction in personnel and the cancellation of global aid contracts is unconstitutional and violates the separation of powers.

“What we’re seeing is an unlawful seizure of this agency by the Trump administration in a plain violation of basic constitutional principles,” said Robin Thurston, the legal director for Democracy Forward, one of two advocacy organizations that filed the lawsuit on behalf of the American Foreign Service Association and American Federation of Government Employees, adding that the administration had “generated a global humanitarian crisis.”

Because, you see, destroying the unions is part of the plan.  Where’s that construction guy who said on here that his brethren voted for Trump because ‘my guys are hurting’?  Second request.

Every Rethug in Senate Votes For Project 2025 Architect.  Lest you’ve (Chris) held out hope about reaching across the aisle.

The Democrats’ One True Lever Of Power:

But there is only one hard lever of power currently available: that’s the help the White House needs from Democrats on a budget and the debt ceiling. This morning explainer from Punchbowl makes clear why that help is essential. It’s not just helpful. It’s essential. The GOP majorities are simply too small, especially in the House. The GOP is simply too fractious.

This is the one area where it isn’t a matter of yelling as loud as you can when no one actually has to listen, or working through a decidedly hostile judiciary. Trump needs this. It’s not a matter of working out a deal with Mike Johnson. Trump needs this help and there’s only one place to get it. It’s a not a discussion with John Thune or Mike Johnson. Only with Trump.

I had been somewhat pessimistic about what I was seeing from congressional Democrats on this front. But starting yesterday they began to change their tune and started saying explicitly that the budget and debt ceiling were a key lever for them in handling the situation. That’s real progress. But I think the terms need to be sharpened a lot. The standard should be no help on the budget or the debt ceiling until the lawbreaking stops. Period. End of story. No wilding gangs marauding through the federal government. End the criminal conduct. Period.

Again, not so hard.  Unless Democrats remain so soft.

How the US Has Become Hungary.  Not coincidental:

The “electoral autocracy” that is Viktor Orbán’s Hungary has been long revered by Donald Trump and his “Make America Great Again” (Maga) movement. Now admiration is turning into emulation. In the early weeks of Trump’s second term as US president, analysts say, there are alarming signs that the Orbánisation of America has begun.

With the tech billionaire Elon Musk at his side, Trump has moved with astonishing velocity to fire critics, punish media, reward allies, gut the federal government, exploit presidential immunity and test the limits of his authority. Many of their actions have been unconstitutional and illegal. With Congress impotent, only the federal courts have slowed them down.

“They are copying the path taken by other would-be dictators like Viktor Orbán,” said Chris Murphy, a Democratic senator for Connecticut. “You have a move towards state-controlled media. You have a judiciary and law enforcement that seems poised to prioritise the prosecution of political opponents. You have the executive seizure of spending power so the leader and only the leader gets to dictate who gets money.”

Musk Whiz-Kid Resigns.  A bridge too far even for the Muskovite (can I copyright that?)?:

25-year-old Marko Elez departed his role after the outlet inquired about an alarming X account possibly belonging to him. The account, which was deleted in December, once carried the handle @marko_elez and had posted multiple racist comments, including: “Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool,” “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity” and “Normalize Indian hate.”

Elez has been at the center of another controversy this week. On Tuesday, Wired reported that through his work at DOGE, he was given direct access to Treasury Department systems responsible for nearly all payments made by the U.S. government. Talking Points Memo confirmed Wired’s reporting, adding that Elez had “already made extensive changes” to the code base for the payments systems.

Matt Meyer’s Transition Report.  Not a ‘plan’ per se, but a series of proposed initiatives.  Your Homework Assignment:  Read it and comment.  I’ll double back when I have the time.

Too Many People, Not Enough Dentists.  One more ranking where Delaware comes in–last:

A recent study by MyBioSource, analyzing County Health Rankings data, suggests that adult dental care accessibility has improved in the U.S. over the past five years, but has largely missed Delaware.

Delaware ranked last, according to the study, because the number of people per dentist increased from 2,149 to 2,181 here, marking a 32-person increase over five years.

When broken down by county, the study authors found Kent County had improved, decreasing its ratio by 55 people per dentist, however while New Castle County remained relatively flat, adding just 12 people per dentist, Sussex County’s whopping 81-person increase is attributed to the shift.

Uh, Why Didn’t Delaware Flag This Guy?:

Dr. Deborah Fletcher made a bold prediction in December 2021 when the man who had headed her children’s school in Louisiana for two and a half years cleared out his office.

“We will see his mug shot sometime in the future from a different school,” Fletcher texted to a friend.

Fletcher, an emergency room physician in Shreveport, was referring to Justin Lee Smith, whose rocky and controversial tenure at the helm of the private, prestigious Southfield School was ending.

During his time at Southfield, which educates preschoolers through eighth graders, Smith had alarmed parents by sending an email, obtained by WHYY News, that included a porn actor’s name and the word “threesome,’’ and by having an affair with a female staff member amid accusations of lurid behavior inside the school.

Looks like lax reporting policies and (likely) fear of legal action if schools wrote the truth about Smith in reference letters were a major factor in him making it to Delaware unscathed.

What do you want to talk about?