DL Open Thread: Tuesday, April 22, 2025
Hegseth’s Days Are Numbered. Hey, let’s start with a little video from the Man Himself. From the exclusive White House Easter Egg Hunt. In front of his kids:
Well, were I inclined to, I’d point out that one of those ‘anonymous’ sources was the guy who was writing up Hegseth’s propaganda for him and who used his own name when claiming he was unfit to serve. Hmmm, guess I was so inclined. I felt really bad for his kids, who looked less than joyful at the conclusion of his tirade. Think they’ve seen it all before. Oh, I was saying that his days are numbered:
I know it may be impossible to accept, but it turns out that a weekend cable news host with a long record of personal misconduct may not actually be capable of leading the most powerful military on earth after all. Unfortunately, it does appear that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is not living up to what the president and the entire Republican Party apparently believed was his vast potential based upon his “central casting” good looks and white supremacist tattoos. He’s in trouble again and this time it’s coming from inside the house.
Hegseth had already shown the recklessness and lack of judgment many of his former co-workers at Fox News, hardly a bastion of wokeness, said worried them when he was nominated. (He was known to have a very messy personal life with excessive drinking, affairs, baby mamas and even a rape charge.) He promised the GOP senators who confirmed him that he would not take a drink while serving as secretary of defense and there is no evidence he’s broken it. But his judgment is even worse than his critics anticipated.
That’s just a taste. You’ll enjoy the full banquet. Trump may well have a problem finding someone so singularly unqualified, racist, homophobic, and misogynistic to take his place. Might I suggest–Tommy Tuberville?
Colleges And Universities Fight Back. Progress, although far too few of the ‘big schools’ (think football factories) signed on:
As leaders of America’s colleges, universities, and scholarly societies, we speak with one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education. We are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight. However, we must oppose undue government intrusion in the lives of those who learn, live, and work on our campuses. We will always seek effective and fair financial practices, but we must reject the coercive use of public research funding…
The price of abridging the defining freedoms of American higher education will be paid by our students and our society. On behalf of our current and future students, and all who work at and benefit from our institutions, we call for constructive engagement that improves our institutions and serves our republic.
You might want to check to see if your college or university is among the signees. Goldey-Beacom is. The University Of Delaware is not. Neither is my alma mater, Syracuse University. They, among many others, are notable by their absence.
Tariff Carve-Outs: Corruption Or Incompetence?:
After President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs earlier this month, the White House released a list of more than a thousand products that would be exempted.
One item that made the list is polyethylene terephthalate, more commonly known as PET resin, the thermoplastic used to make plastic bottles.
Why it was spared is unclear, and even people in the industry are confused about the reason for the reprieve.
But its inclusion is a win for Reyes Holdings, a Coca-Cola bottler that ranks among the largest privately held companies in the U.S. and is owned by a pair of brothers who have donated millions of dollars to Republican causes. Records show the company recently hired a lobbying firm with close ties to the Trump White House to make its case on tariffs.
The resin’s unexplained inclusion on the list exemplifies how opaque the administration’s process for crafting its tariff policy has been. Major stakeholders are in the dark about why certain products face levies and others don’t. Tariff rates have been altered without any clear explanation for the changes. Administration officials have given conflicting messages about the tariffs or declined to answer questions at all.
The lack of transparency about the process has created concerns among trade experts that politically connected firms might be winning carve-outs behind closed doors.
“It could be corruption, but it could just as easily be incompetence,” a lobbyist who works on tariff policy said of PET resin’s inclusion. “To be honest, this was such a hurried mess, I am not sure who got into the White House to talk to folks about the list.”
That ‘lobbying firm with close ties to the White House’? It’s so close that it’s lobbied for Trump’s companies:
During the fourth quarter of last year, the same period when Trump won the election, records show Reyes Holdings, the Coca-Cola bottler, enlisted Ballard Partners to lobby on tariffs. During the first quarter of this year, when Trump was inaugurated, records show that Ballard began lobbying the Commerce Department, which shapes trade policy, on tariffs.
The firm has become a destination for companies looking for an in with the Trump administration. It once lobbied for Trump’s own company, the Trump Organization, and its staff has included top officials in the administration, such as Attorney General Pam Bondi and the president’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles. Brian Ballard, its founder and a prolific fundraiser for Trump, was named by Politico “the most powerful lobbyist in Trump’s Washington.” He was one of two lobbyists from the firm who lobbied on tariffs for Reyes Holdings, federal disclosure records show.
Answering the question in the headline, I’m going with ‘corruption with a side order of incompetence’.
Meyer Nominates New Marijuana Czar. Looks like a good choice to me. Who knows what the Senate will think?:
Gov. Matt Meyer taps specialized cannabis attorney Joshua Sanderlin from Washington D.C. to be Delaware’s next Marijuana Commissioner.
As the principal of Sanderlin Strategies, Sanderlin has helped marijuana business owners through complex legal and regulatory landscapes, helping to secure cannabis licenses and drafting compliance protocols across eight jurisdictions.
Sanderlin has worked in the cannabis industry since 2013, serving as an attorney and lobbyist for global firm Greenberg Traurig prior to establishing his own firm.
“Josh Sanderlin will bring deep expertise, steady leadership, and a clear commitment to equity and accountability to the Office of the Marijuana Commissioner,” said Governor Matt Meyer in a statement. “His experience navigating complex regulatory systems and work across the cannabis industry make him uniquely qualified to launch Delaware’s adult-use marijuana market quickly and correctly. With Josh at the helm, we’re ready to build a system that is safe, transparent, and delivers real opportunity for hardworking Delawareans.”
From WDEL: ‘Meyer Nominates Cannibus Lawyer Lawyer To Become Delaware’s 2nd Marijuana Commissioner’. Either you’re on the cannibus, or you’re not on the cannibus.
What do you want to talk about?
A very concerning must-read on hundreds of unlicensed teachers/professionals in Delaware’s schools: https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/education/2025/04/22/more-than-400-delaware-teachers-found-working-on-expired-licenses/82233994007/
Rep. Moore continues to garner suspicion.
Meanwhile in neighboring New Jersey, an important conversation about divestment. Delaware absolutely must investigate both pension and tax investments for unethical entities — even if the Tesla stock is simply a poor investment at this point. https://newjerseyglobe.com/state/fulop-says-n-j-pension-fund-should-divest-from-tesla/
Wow, that article on unlicensed teachers is a real eye-opener.
Plus, not only was Rae Moore getting paid for unverified teaching work at her second job while she was supposedly serving in Dover, we now know that she is/was unqualified to teach.
If the Speaker has/had any integrity, Moore will/would be removed from the Education Committee ASAP. Not to mention, ‘word on the street’ is that she MAY have asked/demanded staffers to do work that was not part of their job description.
Doesn’t matter how ‘progressive’ a legislator may be. If they are acting unethically, they need to be called out.
I listened to Rae Moore’s interview on Highlands Bunker. She seems to have issues with articulating ideas, which should not be an issue for a trained teacher. Unless she was intentionally “code switching”, she did not come across as an intelligent person.
The Sanderlin appointment is another example that Matt has been a decided upgrade. We have a guy who can clean up a mess that in my view was intentionally created by the last guy. Matt can be frustrating but so far one of hs north stars has been seeking competent professionals whether it be ports or pot. The cannabis mess will take a while, and Carney can still screw it up in the city, but it should mellow out.
Yep. I find it ironic that Carney is begging for a slice of the pie. After he’s proposed relegating pot stores to the hinterlands, and after opposing legalized pot for as long as he could.
He is now and forever will be: Delaware’s Worst Governor Ever.