Firefighting Foam Finally Finished In Delaware. With one notable exception…:
Thousands of residents living near military bases in Delaware drank contaminated tap water for years, unaware they were ingesting toxic PFAS chemicals that are now linked to serious health problems.
Firefighters used foam containing so-called “forever chemicals” for decades in training exercises and to extinguish petroleum fires, including at military bases in New Castle and Dover. From there, PFAS ran off the runways and tarmac, seeping into local drinking water supplies.
At the time, emergency responders did not know about the potential dangers of PFAS, which can stay in the environment and in human bodies for years. Today, residents who live near the New Castle Air National Guard Base have high levels of PFAS in their blood, and millions of dollars were spent to remove the chemicals from the municipal water supply.
Delaware lawmakers hope to reduce people’s exposure to PFAS after Gov. Matt Meyer last month signed legislation banning firefighting foam that contains the toxic PFAS.
“We have a legacy of a lot of chemical contamination in Delaware, and PFAS is one of the contaminants that’s of concern,” said state Rep. Frank Burns, D-Newark, the bill’s sponsor. “One of the things we need to do is stop adding it to the environment, and that was why this legislation was important to get through, because when it’s used it ends up in the water.”
The one notable exception?:
The legislation exempts the Delaware City Refinery from the ban for no more than 13 years and requires the facility to report each time it uses AFFF.
I, uh, guess they figure that oil seeping into the water supply can’t be made any worse by swirling in some firefighting foam. Consider it a poison latte of sorts.
Dover Approves Moratorium On Data Centers:
The Dover City Council on Monday unanimously approved a 18-month moratorium on the construction of data centers in Delaware’s capital city.
The moratorium is the first of its kind in Delaware, and follows more than a year of discussions and debate across the state over how much the fast-growing industry could impact power bills and the local environment.
Dover’s new ordinance now pauses the city’s official review of proposals for large energy-use facilities, including data centers that use more than 30 megawatts of electricity. That amount of electricity is roughly equivalent to the energy use of 24,000 homes.
Who’s next?
Rogue DOJ Goes After Rep. Ilhan Omar:
Citing unnamed sources “close to the investigation”, Fox News – which is typically friendly with the Trump administration – reported that the search on Omar’s home pertained to a criminal fraud investigation concerning her immigration paperwork. Omar’s late father filled out that paperwork when Omar, a Somali-born, naturalized US citizen, was a child.
Hmmm, so tell me again what Omar did that was illegal? Didn’t stop Trump, though:
Donald Trump and key allies have accused Omar of fraud related to her family’s immigration history, fantasizing openly about denaturalizing her and expelling her from the country.
When asked about the raid on Monday, Trump said he had “nothing to do with it” and the investigation is “up to the DoJ”.
“I understand they’re looking at her very carefully,” Trump told reporters. “I’ve always found her to be totally crooked, personally, but that has nothing to do with me.”
Ri-i-i-ght.
Ken Paxton Gets Even More Corrupt. Partied in Dubai With…:
Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton reportedly rang in the new year in Dubai alongside two men facing federal criminal charges in the United States, adding another controversy to his campaign as he struggles to fend off Democratic challenger James Talarico.
According to a Monday report from The Wall Street Journal, the Texas attorney general attended a lavish New Year’s Eve celebration in Dubai on December 31, 2024, with his extramarital girlfriend, Tracy Duhon, and two Americans who had been indicted months earlier in a federal healthcare fraud case.
Those two fugitives?:
The men, Anosh Ahmed and Sameer Suhail, were accused of stealing $15 million from a Chicago hospital, where Ahmed served as chief financial officer. Neither had returned to the United States to face the charges at the time of the New Year’s gathering.
Ahmed, who was additionally charged in a separate, larger fraud case involving at least $195 million in alleged government payments for bogus Covid-19 tests, also had financial ties to Paxton.
Campaign finance records reviewed by the Journal revealed that Ahmed contributed $190,000 to the Republican, including a $25,000 donation made just days after his indictment.
Pure coincidence, I’m sure.
Rethugs Throw In The Towel On Five House Races:
Top Republican super PACs aligned with President Trump and congressional Republican leadership are cutting off financial support for two Republican House members seeking re-election, according to three people with direct knowledge of the plans.
The decision represents the first instance this cycle of national Republican groups abandoning incumbents as the party scrambles to prevent more widespread losses in the midterm elections.
Officials with the two super PACs decided to cancel all remaining advertising booked for Representative Thomas H. Kean Jr. of New Jersey and Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa over the weekend after internal G.O.P. polling had showed their re-election chances dimming.
National Republicans,after withdrawing funds last week from the open Nebraska seat of Representative Don Bacon, who is retiring, have now essentially ceded three House districts the party currently holds.
The Republican triage efforts also include withdrawing all of the remaining funds that had been reserved for targeting two Democrats running for re-election, Representatives Greg Landsman of Ohio and Kristen McDonald Rivet of Michigan, according to the three people with direct knowledge. One of the people said other seats were under active consideration to be abandoned as soon as this week.
Tune in next week to see who else the R’s abandon.
Can Rethug Disinformation Campaign Survive Without Russian Bots? We may be just finding out:
I am seeing a number of posts in alternate media sites – nothing in big and MSM sites – that indicate that right wing blogging has dropped by huge numbers after the Ukrainian bombings of Russian data centers in the last two days.
Places like Informat.ro are saying “Declines in online activity were also observed around conservative groups in Germany and the United Kingdom. In the United States, users noticed fewer pro-conservative and pro-Trump reactions on the X platform, fueling speculation about the role of Russian infrastructure in influence operations.”
Waiting to see if this gets legs and greater coverage in the media. My kids sent me graphics showing >50% drop in very active MAGAs posts from “middle American” posted immediately after the bombings and the postings haven’t resumed. Supposedly, similar drops in AfD bloggers in Germany were observed.
I would call this ‘founded speculation’.
Trump Pulls A Reverse Johnny Appleseed. Blatantly violates the law:
A federal judge on Monday ripped the Trump administration for “inexcusable” gamesmanship after it removed hundreds of trees from a public golf course that the president said he wants to turn into “one of the greatest golf courses anywhere in the world” — a renovation plan being challenged in court.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said lawyers for the government had assured her the administration would give her ample warning if it planned any “irreversible” actions at East Potomac Golf Links, only to chop down over 400 trees on the course over the weekend without proper notice.
“I’m furious,” Reyes told attorneys from the Justice Department.
“I was hearing from everyone on plaintiffs’ side this was going to happen. I said repeatedly, ‘No, I trust the government.’ I trusted you all not to do precisely what you have done,” the judge said. She called the government’s actions “inexcusable.”
(In fairness, that was stupid.)
“What has happened has cost the government all of its credibility,” Reyes added.
An attorney for the government, Marissa Piropato, said it gave notice in a court filing shortly before 5 p.m. on Friday, the beginning of the three-day holiday weekend. The work began the next morning, with 430 trees being removed.
Piropato told the judge “we did our best” to notify the court and the plaintiff in the case, the DC Preservation League.
“You did not do your best. You did your absolute worst,” the judge snapped.
What do you want to talk about?
My wife submitted her absentee ballot this morning. Got a laugh seeing that the Republican running against Coons is listed as Michael “Dr. Mike” Katz. I didn’t realize the Department of Elections allowed such things.