DL Open Thread: Wednesday, April 8, 2026
Gov. Meyer Upgrades DEFAC With This Appointment:
Governor Matt Meyer announced the appointment of Brenda Wise to the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council, adding a new voice to the panel that helps guide the state’s financial outlook.
“Brenda Wise brings a strong record of public service and thoughtful leadership that will benefit DEFAC and all Delaware taxpayers,” Meyer said. “I’m thankful for her willingness to serve, and look forward to her providing strong, knowledgeable counsel to this critical board.”
According to Meyer’s office, Wise currently serves as Corporate Counsel and Director of Global Government Affairs at CSC, where she manages international employment law risks, negotiates agreements and works with government partners across more than 30 jurisdictions. Her previous role as director of policy at the Delaware Office of Management & Budget included advancing programs aimed at helping vulnerable populations and leading the state’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise pilot program.
At year’s end, the outraged bleatings of Mike Houghton and his Delaware Way pals will have a place of honor on the ‘Most Ridiculous’ list. To me, the only surprise is that Meyer kept him on at DEFAC for as long as he did. Remember: Houghton created and pretty much funded a PAC to do polling for Bethany Hall-Long when her campaign was in limbo due to financial improprieties. Which, BTW, have never been adequately addressed to this day. Were I Meyer, I’d sure as shit kick him off the Delaware River And Bay, which has traditionally been reserved for connected political hacks like–Mike Houghton.
Bibi: Lebanon Doesn’t Count. Ergo, the genocide must continue:
The Israeli military told people in the southern suburbs of Beirut to flee, moments after announcing its forces are continuing “combat and ground operations” against Hezbollah.
In its third time it has told people in Lebanon to flee since the US-Iran ceasefire was announced, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) urged residents of seven Beirut neighbourhoods to flee their homes.
The order covers a large swathe of the Lebanese capital, where hundreds of thousands of people have already become displaced following repeated IDF warnings to leave the area.
“The IDF continues to operate and strike at military infrastructure belonging to the terrorist organisation Hezbollah across the southern suburbs,” the IDF Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, said on X.
“The IDF has no intention of harming you; therefore, for your own safety, you must evacuate immediately.”
The Israeli government said it accepts the two-week ceasefire agreement reached last night between the US and Iran, but that it does not include Lebanon, contrary to a statement by Pakistan. Hezbollah has yet to publicly announce its position.
Swift Passage Through The Strait Of Hormuz? Not so fast, my friend:
There were few signs on Wednesday of a large-scale return of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran promised the “safe passage” of vessels in the crucial waterway as part of its cease-fire with the United States.
That could change, experts said, if shipping operators concluded that the terms of making the passage were clear and the risks of attacks were reduced. Global shipping traffic and energy flows could yet take months to return to prewar levels, they added.
A Greek-owned bulk carrier and a Liberia-flagged vessel crossed the strait on Wednesday, according to Kpler, a global ship-tracking firm. But there were also “no clear signs yet of large-scale positioning or queuing that would indicate ships are preparing to move through in significant numbers,” said Dimitris Ampatzidis, a senior risk and compliance analyst at Kpler. “Most operators appear to be holding back.”
Iran has said that it will have a role in organizing traffic through the strait. Shipping companies may balk at negotiating with Iranian authorities, especially if the terms of a passage are not clear and require large payments.
Iran’s foreign minister said in a statement early Wednesday that safe passage through the strait would be possible if coordinated with Iran’s military and with consideration of “technical limitations.” President Trump said on social media that the United States would be “helping with the traffic build up in the Strait of Hormuz” and “hangin’ around” to ensure everything goes well.
But the lack of clarity about Iran’s “limitations” and what exactly the military coordination would look like has left the industry wary.
Rethugs Really ARE In Deep Shit. I admit it–in college, my eyes glazed over when macro- and micro-economics were involved. But when it came to analyzing polling data and election results, I was in my element. The NYTimes has scratched that itch with their county-by-county election maps. They’re fantastic. Each county is detailed, along with recent election trends in each county. Now, take a look at the map from last night’s Supreme Court contest in Wisconsin:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/us/elections/results-wisconsin-supreme-court.html
Click on the tab that reads ‘How Votes Compare With Past Elections’. Now, understand that many of these counties voted for Trump, sometimes by margins as large as 30% or more. BTW, you can click on each county to understand more. A couple of examples:
Crawford County: ‘A rural county that Donald J. Trump won by 14 points in 2024″. The Democrat won, 60-40 last night.
Monroe County: ‘A rural county that Donald J. Trump won by 26 points in 2024″. Went plus-2 for the D last night.
I’m not cherry-picking. The Democrat literally outperformed Harris in every single county in Wisconsin, save one. By huge margins. Well, I sorta cherry-picked to make a point. Rural residents are already feeling the effects of the Trump ‘Excursion’, and I think this vote reflects that. There is no reason why grassroots D’s (as opposed to corporadems) in particular in states like Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Ohio, to name just a few, can’t succeed beyond expectations this fall. Didn’t mention Georgia, but OK. Yes, the R won, but, again click on that ‘How Votes Compare With Past Elections’ tab. In every single county, the D outperformed the 2024 margin for Trump by at least 20%.
Meaning, when it comes to Rethugs, pants-wetting ain’t just for the President any more.
Trump Administration Going All-Out For Orban:
The European Commission’s spokespeople – three of them, no less – have reluctantly reacted to JD Vance’s comments alleging the EU’s unprecedented interference in the Hungarian elections.
At first they insisted they wouldn’t respond to his comments, even as they very pointedly noted the context of his visit – just days before the vote on Sunday.
The commission’s tech spokesperson Thomas Regnier somewhat mockingly said that “what the European bureaucrats have been doing is [moving] to set out a strong framework to make sure that the elections remain in the hands of our citizens.”
While his comments were seemingly about the regulation and use of social media platforms during election campaigns in Europe, it felt like there was a bit of an underlying message to the US VP, too.
But eventually, pushed a bit by several journalists, they went further, with the EU’s foreign spokesperson Anitta Hipper saying:
“We have also our diplomatic channels and we will be using these also to convey our concerns to our US counterparts.”
Speaking of foreign interference, Russia has also chimed in, backing JD Vance’s suggestions that some in the European Union were opposed to the re-election of Viktor Orbán and actively trying to help his rivals.
“Many forces in Europe, many forces in Brussels, would not like Orbán to win the elections again,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
“This is well known, it’s obvious to the naked eye, and, of course, they’re playing into the hands of those forces that politically oppose Orbán and believe that publishing such materials could harm him,” Peskov told reporters when asked about a leaked transcript of Orbán’s phone call with Russia’s Putin last year, reported by Bloomberg.
Hungary’s Viktor Orbán offered to go to great lengths to help Vladimir Putin, telling the Russian leader “I am at your service” in an October call, it has emerged, prompting further scrutiny of Budapest’s ties to the Kremlin just as JD Vance arrived in the city.
On Tuesday, Bloomberg News said it had obtained a Hungarian government transcript of a call that took place between Orbán and Putin on 17 October, in which Orbán reportedly compared the relationship to that of a “mouse” standing ready to help the Russian “lion” as needed.
“Yesterday our friendship rose to such a high level that I can help in any way,” Orbán reportedly told Putin in the call. “In any matter where I can be of assistance, I am at your service.”
So. Tell me again: Why is Vance there?
What do you want to talk about?
