So much grift, so much fascism, so little time:
The US Department of State is planning to spend $400m buying new Tesla armoured vehicles, even as the carmaker’s boss, Elon Musk, leads efforts to slash government spending under Donald Trump.
A procurement forecast produced by the department showed the $400m (£320m) proposed spending on “armoured Tesla (production units)”. They are likely to be Cybertrucks, the newest model of the company’s electric pickup, given Musk’s claims that the vehicle is bulletproof.
The revelation raises the possibility of more conflicts of interest for Musk, who is one of the biggest beneficiaries of US government contracts through the companies he controls.
Update: The name ‘Tesla’ has been removed from the document. Because they think we’re stupid:
The State Department was planning to buy $400 million worth of “Armored Tesla” later this year, according to its 2025 procurement forecast, a document outlining projections of anticipated contracts, which was published in December. But after reports emerged on Wednesday of the potential for conflict of interest given Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s prominent role in the Trump Administration, the document was updated, removing mention of Tesla and changing the line item to “Armored Electric Vehicles” instead.
That’ll fool the rubes.
Judge Allows Mass Fed ‘Retirements’ To Move Forward:
The court victory allowed the White House to advance a crucial part of its plan to reduce the federal work force through mass payment offers.
In a ruling denying a request to halt the plan, Judge George A. O’Toole Jr., a U.S. District Court judge in the District of Massachusetts, did not weigh in on the program’s legality. The judge wrote that the plaintiffs, which included unions representing federal workers, were not directly affected by the incentive plan, known as “Fork in the Road,” and lacked standing to challenge it.
“The unions do not have the required direct stake in the Fork directive,” Judge O’Toole wrote, adding that they were “challenging a policy that affects others, specifically executive branch employees.”
Oh, so, because not all of the employees impacted are union employees, the unions have no standing to sue on behalf of any of the employees who are union employees. Got it.
“This Is A New DOJ”. The newly-rogue Department Of Injustice Sues NY:
In her first news conference as U.S. attorney general, Pam Bondi lambasted the Biden administration for its immigration policies and announced that she had sued several state leaders — and would sue more — if they don’t cooperate with federal immigration efforts.
Bondi announced that the Justice Department had sued multiple officials in New York over a state statute — known as the “Green Light Law” — that allows the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants. The law limits the state from sharing data related to the licenses with federal immigration authorities and requires state officials to notify the license holder when requests for information are made.
This week, the Trump appointees at the Department of Homeland Security said they had revoked $80 million in congressionally approved funds intended to help New York City house undocumented immigrants. DHS Secretary Kristi L. Noem denounced what she called “egregious payments” from a grant program that houses migrants in hotels and other facilities.
Trump initiated the program during his first presidency, and it is now overseen by the Federal Emergency Management Association.
I think we have something similar to the Green Light Law in Delaware. Not sure how Suxco’s poultry industry could survive without it.
Ho-kay. Gonna compartmentalize now. Gonna look at other stuff. Or at least try.
C’mon, Sean, Don’t Be So Stubborn. An important, perhaps essential, reform. All you need to do is to make it a concurrent resolution:
That has led Rep. Sean Lynn, D-Dover, to propose a solution, by way of an arcane law known as the “bill of address.” He is hoping it is adopted in the rules packages of both chambers in the rare case that a statewide elected official is once again convicted.
“It took the better part of a year to not only unearth this but to then bring it up to modern specifications and put it into a form that is adoptable by a General Assembly in 2025,” Rep. Lynn said during a House Rules Committee meeting Jan. 29.
“For whatever reason, it was not heard in previous sessions, but it deserves to be heard primarily because it needs more posterity to be placed into our rules so that no other General Assembly has to try to recreate the wheel.”
I agree. However:
The third method is the one Rep. Lynn is attempting to institute, as it is presently outlined in the state constitution but has no concrete avenue listed in either chamber’s rules. House Resolution 8, sponsored by the representative, contains the procedures of how such an action can occur.
Under the constitutional clause, the governor can remove any officer — except state lawmakers or the lieutenant governor — “upon the address of two-thirds of all members elected to each house of the General Assembly.”
Since the legislation is a House resolution, it only requires passage in that chamber. Members of the Rules Committee suggested that a concurrent resolution might work better, though, considering it would be delivered to the Senate for concurrence if passed.
“You’re introducing a change to our rules over here, but if it doesn’t change over there, then … it doesn’t really do anything,” Speaker of the House Melissa Minor-Brown, D-New Castle, said to Rep. Lynn. She also encouraged him to begin talks with the Senate about the idea.
House attorney Ron Smith also agreed that a concurrent resolution would be the ideal course of action, given case law that prohibits one General Assembly from binding a future General Assembly.
This one’s simple. Just do it.
Can’t make up this morning’s ‘Lead Story’ in the News-Journal: “273 Players To Watch In Delaware High School Football In 2025”. Just curious–is that everybody expected to play HS football in Delaware in 2025?
When it comes to the Port, somebody’s hiding something:
Following the transfer of nearly $200 million into the Diamond State Port Corporation (DSPC) under Bethany Hall-Long’s two-week tenure as governor, the auditor’s office announces a performance audit will ensue.
The auditor’s flagging of the large transfer comes while the Delaware General Assembly and Gov. Matt Meyer await an opinion from the Delaware Supreme Court on the status of nominations made by former Gov. Bethany Hall-Long to the DSPC Board of Directors.
While $195 million had already been earmarked for the DSPC by former Gov. John Carney’s administration to build the new Edgemoor Port Container Terminal, the money had been held in an interest-bearing state special fund since June 2024.
Following the signing of a Joint Development Agreement between DSPC and private port operator Enstructure in December, the earmarked funds, plus close to $5 million in interest, was transferred to the DSPC on Jan. 16 of this year.
While the auditor’s office is mandated to conduct a financial audit of the port annually, State Auditor Lydia York explains it was the large sum of money made in a single transfer that prompted her to announce this broader performance audit.
The Edgemoor project is expected to cost a grand total of $635 million, but combined with the existing Port of Wilmington, the two are expected to generate 11,500 jobs and $76.2 million in tax revenues for the state. (Um, expected by whom?)
Christiana Care Laments Erosion Of Corporate Brand. Allow me to translate: ‘Any Delaware move away from carte blanche for its corporations is bad for the state’. The real target? This bill, now law, that Christiana Care has relentlessly sought to neuter. This is as good time as any to mention that those opposing accountability from Christiana Care will soon have two new champions in the form of empty vessels Dan Cruce and Ray Siegfried, both of whom have publicly opposed the cost review board. Ladies and gentlemen, your Democratic Party insiders. Hey, the bill isn’t totally great, ideally could use some modifications, but it seeks to control health care prices. Something a retired corporate shill from ChristianaCare, Ray Siegfried, opposes because that’s who he’ll represent in Dover, not the voters of SD 5.
What do you want to talk about?