DL Open Thread: Tuesday, April 1, 2025

B-b-b-but Hamas!:

Palestinians held funerals Monday for 15 medics and emergency responders killed by Israeli troops in southern Gaza, after their bodies and mangled ambulances were found buried in an impromptu mass grave, apparently plowed over by Israeli military bulldozers.

The Palestinian Red Crescent says the slain workers and their vehicles were clearly marked as medical and humanitarian personnel and accused Israeli troops of killing them “in cold blood.” The Israeli military says its troops opened fire on vehicles that approached them “suspiciously” without identification.

Hey, the medics should have approached them ‘unsuspiciously’.  Amirite, you-know-who-you-are?

DEI Caused Signalgate.  Oh, wait…it was all white guys:

Lloyd Austin, the former defense secretary and a four-star general with 40 years of military experience, was nonetheless labeled a DEI hire of the Biden administration. Pete Hegseth, the current secretary of defense, lacks adequate expertise and experience, on top of the fact that he’s had allegations of sexual assault and is known as an excessive drinker. A former National Security Council member and a Senate member deemed Hegseth unqualified for the position. However, according to Donald Trump, Hegseth had a tremendous track record that qualified him for the position.

The MAGA crowd called for Austin to resign because he failed to share that he had an emergency medical procedure, yet they explain away Hegseth’s failure to keep the details of a war plan confidential. Clearly, the ability to keep a secret wasn’t a qualification for Hegseth to get the job as defense secretary. What Signalgate, the recent scandal involving the Trump administration discussing war plans in a text thread with a journalist mistakenly added to the conversation, made abundantly clear is that the only qualification for Hegseth is that he was what Mishel Williams calls WEI: white, entitled and incompetent. 

Yet Another State Giveaway To Corporation, No Promise Of Union Jobs:

On Monday, German grocer Aldi captured a $5.3 million grant from Delaware taxpayers to help fund its construction of a new robotics-assisted distribution center south of New Castle. The two-story, 1.1 million-square-foot complex is planned for a site next to an existing Amazon warehouse on U.S. Route 13, according to plans submitted to New Castle County in January.

The Delaware Prosperity Partnership is a state-chartered, public-private entity tasked with negotiating taxpayer grant awards with private businesses, including the one with Aldi. Those negotiated deals are then presented to the state’s Council on Development Finance, which has final authority on whether to grant taxpayer-backed funds to projects.

Several members of Delaware trade unions were in attendance at the Monday meeting to show support for Rep. Ed) Osienski’s call for the warehouse to be built by organized labor.

In response, Kastl did not commit to using organized labor, saying instead that “we are openly committed to allowing all Delaware subcontractors to incorporate bids into the project.”

I’ll take that as a ‘no’.

Newark Legislators Lead Drive For Food Bank Of Delaware.  From longtime volunteer Rep. Eric Morrison:

THIS EVENING, Tuesday April 1st, Newark-area Democratic legislators, along with House and Senate leadership, will host a food donation drive at the Food Bank of Delaware (FBD) Newark location. It’s been my pleasure to organize this event.

Due to recent severe cuts to their food supply, the FBD has already lost the equivalent of 900,000 meals. The situation is likely to get worse.

Nineteen shipments scheduled to be delivered to the FBD between April and July have been cancelled.

All of this comes from federal-level cuts. Until now, the FBD has relied on the USDA for half its food donations.

At any given time, one in seven Delawareans is food insecure. And at any given time, one in five children in Delaware is food insecure.

Also, at the same time this evening, 6-8pm, we are holding a volunteer event. It will be great fun for a great cause! Please click here to sign up for the event or to ask questions about it.

I’ve been volunteering at the FBD for almost 20 years and I assure you there is not a more worthy and dedicated nonprofit organization in Delaware.

Please stop by the FBD at 222 Lake Drive (Pencader Corporate Complex) tonight , Tuesday, April 1, between 6 – 8pm and drop off donations of non-perishable foods.

If you cannot join us tonight, please consider making a cash donation here or donating food at another time soon.

To learn more about the FBD, click here.

The other legislators and I hope to see you this evening!

Here are the other legislators who are participating:  Speaker Minor-Brown; Rep. Kerri Evelyn Harris; Rep. Ed Osienski;  Senators Pinkney, Sokola, Townsend and Walsh; Reps.  Burns, Gorman, Phillips, Romer, Kam Smith.  If you live in the area, stop by and help out the Food Bank Of Delaware.  Or click on the link and donate.

Ray Seigfried Finds His True Calling In Dover.  As evidenced by this vote on creating a task force to study the possible use of nuclear energy in Delaware:

The state Senate passed a measure Wednesday to create the Delaware Nuclear Energy Feasibility Task Force, but a broader effort is being taken up in the House of Representatives.

The group would study the potential for deploying small modular reactors in the First State, which are advanced nuclear reactors with about one-third of the generating capacity of traditional nuclear power reactors, up to 300-megawatts of low-carbon electricity, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

During the resolution’s consideration on Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend, D-Newark, and Senate President Pro Tempore, D-Newark, expressed concern the legislation was not broad enough.

Sen. Townsend also noted that the House is working on a broader effort and had communicated with Sen. Richardson to potentially hold off on the resolution “so we could sort it out with the House in a productive way.” Sen. Richardson declined, Sen. Townsend said.

In his response, Sen. Richardson said he was open to any amendments in the House should lawmakers’ want to add additional technologies other than small modular reactors. It is unclear the extent of the House’s proposal, as no related resolutions have been posted on the General Assembly’s website.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 18 ultimately passed by a 19 to two vote, with Sen. Townsend and Sen. Ray Seigfried, D-North Brandywine, opposing the measure.

You will recall that Townsend and Seigfried were co-cheerleaders on behalf of the Musk Giveaway at an RD 10 Democratic meeting recently.

With this vote, Seigfried has cemented his place in Dover:  To walk two paces behind Bryan as Townsend’s Official Designated Fart-Sniffer. The role suits him.

What do you want to talk about?