Author Archives: El Somnambulo

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thursday, April 7, 2022

I know that, by now, you must be sick of reading my screeds about the blatantly corrupt Ft. DuPont project.  A corrupt project whose fate will likely be sealed forever with the passage of HB 355 (Longhurst), which, among other things, gets rid of direct resident representation on the Board, and hands the corporation two undeserved money streams with no strings attached.  If passed and signed, it will successfully mark the completion of the Delaware Way insiderism, ethical bankruptcy, and, yes, corruption that have been the project’s hallmarks from its inception in 2014.

Today, I turn over an accounting of this corruption to Erica Lindsey, a resident of Delaware City, and someone who has proven to be one of those civilian ‘thorns’ that Longhurst and Nicole Poore are seeking to excise with this bill.  Erica, floor’s yours:

The Fort DuPont Redevelopment and Preservation project has been under scrutiny since its inception and public distrust has grown stronger with every broken promise, secret deal, and inappropriate action taken by FDRPC Board Members, employees, legislators, government officials, and cronies thereof, of which there have been MANY.  The Fort DuPont project and everyone affiliated with it are now being closely monitored by the Delaware City community, Delaware residents, and interested parties around the country and around the world.  A change.org campaign to save Fort DuPont State Park currently has 4,257 signatures and over 52,500 independent views, local media outlets have picked up the story and are publishing regular updates, and Fight Delaware Corruption has been working to expose the illegal and/or illicit behavior of those responsible and to offer opportunities to remedy the wrongdoing.

HB355 is Representative Longhurst’s and Senator Poore’s attempt to correct what is wrong with the FDRP Act and the fallout from 8 years of unbridled corruption and wrongdoing levied upon the people of Delaware.  However, this bill will do nothing to allay the public’s concerns, rather, it will reinforce and justify the suspicions shared by the immediate and greater community.  HB355 DECREASES TRANSPARENCY, INCLUSION, AND FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY, confirming fears that there is yet still more corruption to be uncovered and/or thwarted.
FDRPC BOARD RESTRUCTURING
The first draft of HB355 decreased Delaware City resident participation from 4 directors appointed by the Delaware City Mayor and confirmed by Delaware City Council, to 2 directors appointed by the Governor of Delaware.  An amended version of HB355 retains 4 Delaware City residents on the Board, however, it still eliminates Mayor & Council from the appointing process.  2 directors appointed by the Governor, 1 director appointed by Senate President Pro Tempore, and 1 director appointed by Speaker of the House.  This change to the original Act takes any power from the City of Delaware City to impact decision-making and accountability within the FDRPC and places it firmly in the hands of the State, as ALL board members are appointed or assigned by representatives of the State with this change.  It is also noteworthy to mention that the desire for Fort DuPont to grow together as one community with Delaware City seems to be undermined by requiring two residents from “Delaware City” and two residents from “Fort DuPont” rather than 4 Delaware City residents.
Co-chairs of the Capital Improvement Committee are added to the Board with HB355.  The Capital Improvement Committee is responsible for the bond bill which funds the Fort DuPont project with taxpayer dollars.  This means that members of the group ASKING for taxpayer funding are also the group GRANTING those funds.  This gives a definite impression that the funds will be granted without limit, without safeguards or checks & balances, and may be used inappropriately. To compound the problem, one co-chair of the Capital Improvement Committee is Senator Nicole Poore, who has sponsored the project and every bit of legislation associated with it and is now actually attempting to legislate herself onto the Board.
The FDRP Act currently allows for subcommittees to be formed to make recommendations on the redevelopment plan and track implementation efforts; review and provide recommendations on proposals for purchase, sale, lease, or disposition of lands or buildings; provide recommendations on infrastructure improvement plans and budgets; recommend rules, regulations, and policies to the Board.  ALL OF THESE SUBCOMMITTEE RESPONSIBILITIES ARE REPEALED WITH HB355.  Again, the elimination of the subcommittees and their responsibilities significantly decreases transparency and potential opposition to the State-run Board of Directors because it eliminates efforts to analyze, review, investigate, and propose alternative solutions by a group independent of the Board of Directors.
“POSITIVE CHANGES” USED TO HIDE POWER GRAB
HB355 attempts to recognize and correct some of the illicit behavior carried out by the former FDRPC Executive Director and Management.  While positive in nature, the following items should NOT be legislated, rather, these items should be defined in the FDRPC’s Policies & Procedures and controlled and administered by the Board and Executive Director.  Therefore, the public is left to assume that the following ‘positives’ are an attempt to divert constituents from the power-grab created by the Board’s restructuring and elimination of the subcommittee responsibilities:
– Prohibiting employees from accepting gifts over $200
– Prohibiting employees from receiving free or discounted housing
– Credit card purchases over $500 must be approved by Executive Committee
– Checks over $10,000 require signature of the Treasurer
– Executive Director candidates must undergo a criminal and credit background check
– Hiring policy should be impartial and merit based
ENABLING POWER OF FDRPC vs PERMITTING REQUIREMENTS
HB355 adds a clause stating that development at the Fort DuPont complex must follow all applicable environmental law, regulatory requirements, and permitting processes.  If the legislators REALLY wanted to correct the FDRP Act, they would update the MOST DANGEROUS part of the legislation which is the enabling language of the FDRPC.  The following is the language that grants the FDRPC its power:  “The Corporation shall be empowered, without limitation and notwithstanding any other laws to…”  (buy, sell, develop, etc.)  It is this empowering language that has been used time and again as a one-size-fits-all excuse when any illegal or illicit behavior is uncovered.  The original HB310 drafted to create the FDRP Act stated that the Corporation must follow all local, state, and federal laws – but HB310 was completely rewritten a month before then-Governor Markell signed it.  If the sponsors of HB355 truly wanted to fix what is wrong with the Fort DuPont project, they should start by changing the enabling language.
HB355 should not be approved.
Erica Lindsey
Delaware City, DE

I will simply add that both the Project Manager, who was caught engaging in likely illegal activities, and the Board Chair, willful dupe Bryon Short, have both recently resigned their positions.  We still have no dependable accounting of all the state resources that have been dedicated to this project.  HB 355 now proposes not only to add both Bond Bill chairs, including the hopelessly corrupt Nicole Poore, to the Board, but also the FOIA-exempt head of the so-called Prosperity Partnership.

Longhurst got the bill through her rubber stamp of a committee yesterday, and it’s already on today’s House Agenda.  Were I a mere cynic, I’d suggest that Our PAL Val’s trying to get this through before a criminal investigation is launched.  However, on this issue, I’m a total cynic, I know the cops are in her pocket, and I know that most House members are scared of her.  I’d love to see some no votes, just to let me know that there remain a few brave folks there.  However, now is the time to reach out to any and every senator that you know, and demand that this bill not pass until/unless all key concerns regarding it can be resolved. During my time being involved with the General Assembly, I can’t recall a project with so much corruption attached to it that has attracted so little legislative attention.  If that doesn’t change now, it’s over.  BTW, since the legislation literally adds Sen. Nicole Poore to the Ft. DuPont Board, the Senate Ethics Committee should force her to recuse herself from all deliberations pertaining to this bill.  She also should not be permitted to sponsor and/or floor manage the bill for the same reasons.  She should also be forced to give up her post as Chair of the Bond Bill Committee, as HB 355 would place her, as the Chair, on a Board whose legislation she is sponsoring.  Otherwise, she’s engaging in (yet another) blatant conflict-of-interest.

Our PAL Val’s sop to all of us who pay taxes is also on the Agenda.  You know, as if Val was the one who came up with the idea.  One of our readers had a great suggestion, and I will take it to heart:  Every penny I get back will be donated to progressive candidates.  Mostly challengers to corrupt Delaware Way practitioners. Madinah Wilson-Anton will also get a donation as she is being challenged by yet another pal of John Viola’s.

Man, 1400 words in, and we haven’t even addressed the Senate Agenda. Thanks for sticking with us.  Woo-hoo! It’s short, and not particularly controversial, save for some downstate mouth-breathers.

SS1/SB 4 (Sturgeon), which appears to be from the Department of Education, ‘requires the Department of Education (Department) to maintain and publish a list of evidence-based, reading instruction curricula for grades kindergarten through 3. Each curriculum on this list must align with the essential components of literacy, known as the “science of reading” and use high-quality instructional materials.’  Anyone see anything wrong with that?

HB 320 (Heffernan) ‘allows physician assistants and advanced practice registered nurses to prescribe medication for the termination of pregnancy including Mifeprex, Mifepristone, and Misoprostol.’  Should pass on something approximating a straight party line vote.

Well, you sure got your money’s worth today.  We’ll see what Tuesday brings…

 

DL Open Thread: Thursday, April 7, 2022

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Set To Be Elevated To Supreme Court Today.  Hey, we dodged the Breyer nightmare.  That’s something:

A final vote on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation is expected around 1:45 p.m. Eastern, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) told his colleagues Wednesday night. President Biden’s nominee, who is expected to draw the support of all 50 members of the Democratic caucus and three Republicans, will replace retiring Justice Stephen G. Breyer at the end of the court’s term.

Supreme Court Uses ‘Shadow Docket’ To Revive Trump-era Anti-Clean Water Restrictions.  Too much for even Chief Justice Roberts:

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court issued a 5–4 shadow docket order reviving a Trump-era ruling that radically limited the ability of states and tribes to restrict projects, like pipelines, that will damage the environment. With their decision, the majority upended decades of settled law recognizing states’ authority to protect their own waters without bothering to issue a single sentence of reasoning.

Just two days earlier, Justice Amy Coney Barrett once again declared that the Supreme Court is not political during a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation. Americans concerned that a particular ruling was “purely results-driven,” she said, should “read the opinion.” A close reading, Barrett asserted, would help the public decide if the ruling is “designed to impose the policy preferences of the majority” or an honest effort to “determine what the Constitution and precedent requires.”

But those upset by Wednesday’s decision, which strayed so far from all known law that even Chief Justice John Roberts was driven to dissent, cannot “read the opinion”—because there is none. If that logic-free attack on the Clean Water Act is not a “purely results-driven” attempt to “impose the policy preferences of the majority,” it’s hard to see what is.

Got that? Can’t read the opinion because there is none!

Voter Fraud Is Real. Rethugs Do It.  Candidate for office voted twice in 2016 primaries. In two different states. I, uh, guess it sorta proves their point.

There Should Be Limits To ‘Victims’ Rights’.  This unelected guy from Arizona demonstrates why:

When Josh Tate was sentenced in 2017 to 10 years in prison for getting caught with drugs multiple times, his wife, Claire Tate, tried not to dwell on the moments he would miss with their two young kids. She didn’t see the purpose in sending Josh — who had struggled with a meth addiction for years but never been convicted of a violent crime — away for so long.

“You can’t punish a drug addiction out of somebody,” Claire Tate said recently.

Last year, state legislation supported by prominent conservative groups seemed to offer Josh Tate a chance to serve a larger portion of his sentence at home after completing education and self-help programs.

One man had the power to delay their early reunion: Steve Twist. Twist has never held elected office. But over four decades the Arizona victims’ rights advocate, adjunct law professor and former assistant state attorney general has had an enduring impact on policies that created one of the nation’s most punitive state criminal justice systems.

Across the country, states both liberal and conservative have taken steps to reduce their prison populations. Similar efforts in Arizona have been incremental. The state established mandatory minimums for people who commit multiple and violent crimes; combined with a law that requires almost every prisoner to serve 85% of their sentence in prison — with the exception of people, like Josh, convicted of drug possession, who still serve 70% — this makes Arizona’s criminal justice system one of the harshest in the nation. Locking up so many for so long comes at a high price: Only four states spend a bigger share of their budgets on corrections.

In the 1970s, first as a lobbyist for Arizona police chiefs, then as a lawyer for the Arizona Legislature, Twist helped rewrite the state’s criminal code to make sentencing more punitive. Later, as an assistant state attorney general in the 1980s, he continued to push for harsher laws that kept people in prison even longer. In the 1990s, working for the National Rifle Association, he helped enact similar policies in other states, including requirements that people serve at least 85% of their sentenced time, imposing life sentences after a third conviction for a violent felony, enforcing the death penalty and allowing young people to be charged as adults.

In more recent years, those who have worked with Twist and observed him closely said he remains a gatekeeper for criminal justice policies in Arizona. This continuing influence comes not only from his past work but also his relationships with governors, lawmakers, state supreme court justices, county prosecutors and other victims’ rights advocates. When proposals threaten laws he helped enact, he draws on this network to pressure lawmakers to oppose reform legislation.

Those who have worked with Twist and observed him say it’s not clear what has driven his passion for criminal justice issues. He has said in previous interviews that his work as a prosecutor helped him understand “the plight of crime victims in our system.” And when Twist opposes changes to sentencing laws, he usually references crime victims. This work has made him a nationally recognized figure in the victims’ rights movement, including being honored by the Department of Justice in 2020 with a Victims’ Rights Legend Award. And it’s given him stature in Arizona’s political establishment.

The rights of crime victims and their families should not supersede everybody else’s rights.  Got that, Mrs. Faulkner?

Sounds exactly like Jane Brady’s terms as AG.  It took conservative senator Bob Venables, of all people, to sound the alarm that Delaware was spending an inordinate amount of its capital budget for building new prisons.  Read the entire thing–you’ll learn something.

Oh Noes. ‘Ye’s New Girlfriend Is From Delaware.  Goin’ out on a limb: No good will come from this.

What do you want to talk about?

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Wednesday, April 6, 2022

I doubted that anybody would vote against the Ft. DuPont/Delaware City ‘Charter Change’ in the House.  I was correct.  Perhaps this is the time to call out ‘Mimi’ Minor-Brown.  Representative, the official reorganization of the Delaware Democratic committees should be completed by May. At that point, you, not Valerie Longhurst, will represent the residents of Delaware City and Ft. DuPont. So far, you have voted with Longhurst on every single bill concerning Ft. DuPont.  Do you intend to stand up for the residents once they are your constituents?  Do you actually support what Val and Nicole have done there? Or are you afraid to cross Val?  You know the answers, your constituents-to-be don’t.  Time for some answers.

This is also the time to point out that Schwartzkopf and Longhurst have run the caucus through intimidation and fear. For more than 12 years now. It is their operating principle.  If you don’t line up with them, they will cut out your legs and make an example of you for all to see.  Which is what they did with Kowalko and Baumbach. ‘You see what happens if you cross us? You’d better not cross us.’  My experience with the General Assembly only dates back to 1982, so I can’t speak to what happened before.  However, during the last 40 years, this kind of leadership is unprecedented.  Unlike any leadership style I’ve ever seen. Simply put, these are not good people.  For them, it’s power for the sake of power. And for the police and for whatever scheme Val is cooking up.  A no-show job here, an unfathomable boondoggle there. Not to mention, there’s a reason that she’s the prime sponsor of virtually every major bill that comes through the House.  Because she demands it.  Even cabinet secretaries bow to her requirements.  More later in this very column.

Here is yesterday’s Session Activity Report.  Somebody, I don’t know who (the print was small), has been actively lobbying against SB 231 (Gay), which passed the Senate yesterday by a bare minimum 11 Y, 8 N, 2 NV.  I got a bunch of pop-up ads about it on my desktop yesterday.  No info, just contact your legislators to vote against it.  The one D no vote was Darius Brown (campaign contribution forthcoming? already delivered?), the two D’s who went not voting were Ennis and Mantzavinos.  Does anybody have the back-story on this?  BTW, Spiros is who we thought he was–a Chamber D, the Senate’s answer to Bill Bush. The D’s can do better in that district.

The Senate has a brief Agenda today—one bill and probably some nominations.

Otherwise, it’s an all-committee day.  Lowlighted, of course, by Val ‘n Nicole’s clusterbleep of a bill designed to funnel state money to the Ft. DuPont stinkhole perhaps forever.  HB 355, which, of course, has been placed in the House Administration Committee chaired by, you guessed it, purports to ‘fortify the Declaration of Purpose for the Fort DuPont Complex’.  What it does is add two separate cash cows to the Board, including the FOIA-exempt Director Of The Prosperity Partnership (BTW, I wonder how much money God told them to hand over to Amazon for that Seaford warehouse…), and, wait for it, both chairs of the Bond Bill Committee, including Val’s partner in corruption, Sen. Nicole Poore.

The bill also did away with community representation on the Board.  That proved to be too blatant for, well, at least someone, so Val has added a lipstick-on-a-pig amendment.  Here’s the operative language:

Finally the appointees by the Speaker of the House and the Senate President Pro Tempore are directed to be a resident of Fort DuPont and of Delaware City respectively.

Got that? Speaker Pete will appoint whomever Val wants.  Even if Dave Sokola nominates a community activist like, say, Erica Lindsey, the Board will be overwhelmingly driven by Delaware Way insiders. Like it already is, only with fewer of those ‘annoying’ residents having any say on the project.

Here’s the deal, though: The real problem with this bill is that it provides a virtually unlimited supply of state funds for seemingly forever for a project that should already be self-sufficient. The corruption and ethical bankruptcy that have been the hallmarks of this enterprise from the beginning will continue apace unless somebody stands up to Val and Nicole.  I doubt that it will happen in the House.  But the Senate has the power to either stop the bill or, failing that, require an independent audit of the project from the very beginning right up until the present, and to make any funding contingent upon said audit demonstrating that the money has been spent properly. No, this audit must not be conducted by the State Auditor, who is not only under indictment, but was of course endorsed by Val Longhurst. The money to pay for the audit can come right out of the state auditor’s line, or, better yet, from the slush fund of money currently available to the Ft. DuPont Board.  Maybe the Controller General can be tasked with identifying a suitable firm to conduct the audit.

BTW, did I mention that Val Longhurst gets to grab any bill she wants for herself?  She’s the prime sponsor (the only prime sponsor) on the $300 giveaway bill, also in her very own House Administration Committee.  Anybody think the idea was hers, and hers alone?

Other House Committee highlights:

SS2/SB 1 (McBride), aka the Paid Medical And Family Leave Act. It remains to be seen whether the Chamber (aka Bill Bush) tries to weaken the bill. Health & Human Development.

HB 333 (Bennett).  Something to do with making the declawing of cats a crime.  Mentioned only because, if the House leadership wasn’t corrupt, Andria Bennett would be relegated to her sinecure with the City of Dover, and would no longer be a legislator.  She voted for them for leadership, though, so she’s still there.

HB 380 (Griffith) provides for a student repayment loan plan for new attorneys who choose to serve in the public sector. Judiciary.

HB 326 (Postles).  In case you’re wondering what the Rethugs do in place of legitimate legislating, it’s stuff like this:

This Act creates the Delaware Education Right to Know Act to give parents, guardians, and other education stakeholders more information and opportunities to evaluate public and charter school education in Delaware and to express concerns to school officials.

WTF does that actually mean?  We know, of course. Just designed to gum up the works of public education.  Remember, kids, the less-educated the citizenry, the more likely they are to vote for Rethugs. Education.

Today’s Senate Committee highlights:

SB 253 (S. McBride) ‘provides flexibility for nursing and assisted living facilities to make hiring decisions contingent on staff influenza vaccination status.’  Because, believe it or not, current law prohibits facilities from requiring influenza vaccines. Who dreamed that up? Yrene Waldron?  Health & Social Services.

SS1/SB 4 (Sturgeon) ‘requires the Department of Education (Department) to maintain and publish a list of evidence-based, reading instruction curricula for grades kindergarten through 3. Each curriculum on this list must align with the essential components of literacy, known as the “science of reading” and use high-quality instructional materials.  Education.

Pshew.  Sorry I didn’t get this done in time for the first committee meetings.  Wednesday morning is PT for my hip replacement (working hard to be able to go out and knock doors soon), and, on rare occasion, I tend to be a tad long-winded.

Back tomorrow.  We’ll see what Val tries to rush through the House then.

 

Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Hoo-boy, we’ve got some real interesting bills to talk about right off the bat.

Take, for example, HB 372 (Osienski). The bill ‘regulates and taxes marijuana in the same manner as alcohol’. I honestly haven’t had time to look at the differences between this bill and the failed bill, but they’re similar.  It’s still a 3/5ths bill, so I have to think a lot of pressure will be on Mike Smith to keep the word he broke on the day of that vote. Of note–Bud Freel is on the bill as a co-sponsor, so we have no worries there. The House Revenue & Finance Committee, where the bill has been assigned, is not filled with the most trustworthy members (Bolden, Bennett, and Dorsey Walker, none of whom are sponsors), so be forewarned.  Needless to say, I think it’s a good bill and hope it passes.

I have one question about this following bill:  What exactly is/was AG Kathleen Jennings thinking when it comes to HB 347 (K. Williams)?  The bill:

…makes patronizing a prostitute a Class G felony with a mandatory minimum fine of $1,000 unless the actor has been convicted of the same offense in the last 5 years, in which case it is a Class F felony with a mandatory minimum fine of $2,000. This Act makes patronizing a prostitute by agreeing to engage in sexual contact with a person younger than 18 years of age, regardless of whether the actor knows the age of the person at the time of the offense, a class D Felony. This Act also makes patronizing a prostitute within 1,000 feet of any school, residence, church, synagogue, or other place of worship a class F Felony with a minimum mandatory fine of $2,000.

Is Jennings channeling her inner Charles Oberly, who was similarly obsessed with sex work?  I certainly support going after those who engage in sex trafficking, and those who patronize the so-called Asian Massage parlors, which are thinly-veiled covers for sex trafficking.  But this return to the ’80’s outlaws consensual sex, meaning sex workers are at even greater risk than before.  Not to mention, the piling on of charges.  Will would-be patrons need a GPS tracker to make sure they’re not within 1000 feet of any school, residence, church, synagogue, or other place of worship?   If the AG is looking for a progressive way to help sex workers, might I suggest considering legislation like this?  This makes sense to me.  Sex workers need and deserve protection.  Here is some suggested reading.

The distance requirements were the brain-child of former Sen. Dave McBride and his partner in fighting vice, Captain? Corporal? Ray Hancock (real last name) back in the ’80’s.  They spent many hours together skulking around the adult book stores along Route 13.  We can only (pretty accurately) guess at what drove their obsessions.

I can well understand (and support) AG Jennings’ drive to eliminate the human trafficking that takes place at these Asian spas.  There is nothing consensual about the sex that takes place there.  But I think she’s way off the mark here.  Also gotta say, that’s an unusual group of sponsors: Delaware’s two most unethical legislators; Kim Williams, far afield from her one area of expertise (well, two, if caressing an assault weapon qualifies one as a firearms expert); Stephanie Hansen (you’ll have to ask her); and a bunch of those Rethug downstate mouth-breathers.  IMO, this is a regressive bill, poorly thought-out, and should never see the light of day.  Maybe we can use this as a learning experience to provide support to sex workers.  With a good bill.

There’s another really bad bill in a House committee tomorrow, but we’ll talk about it then.

Today’s House Agenda is lowlighted by SB 238 (Poore), which provides the hopelessly-corrupt Ft. DuPont project and Delaware City an infusion of cash from the RV Park that should never be built. All under the guise of a ‘Charter Change’.  While I have little hope that anybody will vote against this bill (surprise me, please),  I understand that there is finally some push-back on the even more corrupt HB 355 (Longhurst), which will be rubber-stamped in Val’s very own House Administration Committee tomorrow. But, that’s tomorrow. Yes, we’ll talk about it.  BTW, I wonder how much cash Bond Bill chairs Nicole Poore and Deb Heffernan are funneling to this project this year.  Looking forward to perusing that bill when it surfaces.  Remember, Deb, you will be held accountable for your actions. Just sayin’.

HB 311 (Griffith) basically aligns Delaware law with the Federal Americans With Disabilities Act.  Which is the other bill of note on today’s House Agenda.

There is one bill of (limited) interest in a House committee meeting today.  HB 356 (Dorsey Walker) ‘terminates the Medical Marijuana Act Oversight Committee ‘.  This is not controversial.  The committee’s functions had been taken over by the Office Of Medical Marijuana.  The oversight committee hadn’t made a recommendation in years, and essentially had no function.  The Joint Sunset Committee is simply doing what it is charged with doing–in this case, terminating an agency that no longer serves a public purpose.

Today’s Senate Agenda features a substitute bill that ‘clarifies that an employer is liable to an employee for liquidated damages if the employer does not make wages available on the next payday after an employee quits, resigns, is discharged, suspended, or laid off.’  One really good trend (I suspect it’s part of the Senate rules) is that, when a substitute bill is introduced, it spells out the differences between the original bill and the substitute.  Excellent transparency.  It’s still a good bill, and deserves passage.

I was intrigued to see that HB 320 (Heffernan) was assigned to the Senate Sunset Committee, where it will be considered today.  While it seems an odd committee choice, the membership of the committee guarantees that it will clear committee. The bill ‘allows physician assistants and advanced practice registered nurses to prescribe medication for the termination of pregnancy including Mifeprex, Mifepristone, and Misoprostol’.  It passed the House on a straight party line vote (shouldn’t pro-choice voters challenge Smith and Ramone in particular on their stance?  Smith’s voting record should mark him for defeat.). Look for something similar in the Senate.

Things are starting to heat up.  Back tomorrow to further stir the pot.

DL Open Thread: Sunday, April 3, 2022

Merrick Garland: Justice’s Rain Delay.  He would have been terrible on the Supreme Court–worse than Stephen Breyer.  He’s enabling criminals and insurrectionists:

The attorney general’s deliberative approach has come to frustrate Democratic allies of the White House and, at times, President Biden himself. As recently as late last year, Mr. Biden confided to his inner circle that he believed former President Donald J. Trump was a threat to democracy and should be prosecuted, according to two people familiar with his comments. And while the president has never communicated his frustrations directly to Mr. Garland, he has said privately that he wanted Mr. Garland to act less like a ponderous judge and more like a prosecutor who is willing to take decisive action over the events of Jan. 6.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Mr. Garland said that he and the career prosecutors working on the case felt only the pressure “to do the right thing,” which meant that they “follow the facts and the law wherever they may lead.”

His critics say that his subsequent years as an appeals court judge made him slow and overly deliberative. But his defenders say that he has always carefully considered legal issues, particularly if the stakes were very high — a trait that most likely helped the Justice Department secure a conviction against Timothy J. McVeigh two years after the Oklahoma City attack.

Some officials see their limited interactions as an overcorrection on the part of Mr. Garland and argue that he does not need to color so scrupulously within the lines. But it may be the only logical position for Mr. Garland to take, particularly given that both of Mr. Biden’s children are involved in active investigations by the Justice Department.

Of course, one reason that Biden and Garland have kept their distance is b/c two of Biden’s kids are under investigation. (Well, one. The other was a target of Trump’s.)  Which, of course, didn’t stop Trump:

The department is investigating whether Ashley Biden was the victim of pro-Trump political operatives who obtained her diary at a critical moment in the 2020 presidential campaign, and Hunter Biden is under federal investigation for tax avoidance and his international business dealings. Hunter Biden has not been charged with a crime and has said he handled his affairs appropriately.

Palin Running For Alaska Congressional Seat.  She’s not hot anymore. Which is all she had. Cut-‘n-save:  I don’t think she has a chance.

Historians’ First Draft Of The Trump Presidency.  You haven’t heard it all before.  Just most of it.

Why Mike DeWine May Be The Last Of The Traditional Modern Republican Governors.  Also, why he’s under attack.  Excellent analysis.  He’s a conservative, too.  Just not a wingnut.

What do you want to talk about?

DL Open Thread: Saturday, April 2, 2022

Re: Clarence Thomas: D’s Are Total Wusses.  The usual suspects doing the usual thing. Nothing:

Given his wife’s role in encouraging the effort to overturn the election that culminated in the awful events of that day, Clarence Thomas should obviously recuse himself from any case having to do with Jan. 6. But what can Democrats do about him?

This Friday, 17 progressive organizations are releasing a letter calling on Democrats to launch a congressional investigation of Justice Thomas’s “misconduct in his handling of cases regarding the January 6 insurrection, the 2020 presidential election, and other cases involving his wife’s political activities.”

As the groups note in their letter, which is spearheaded by Take Back the Court, Supreme Court justices are bound by a federal statute that says they, like other judges, should recuse themselves from any case in which their “impartiality might reasonably be questioned.”

Remember the idea that justices are bound by the law demanding their recusal in cases in which their impartiality could be questioned? That’s not exactly true, because there’s no body or agency with authority over the Supreme Court to force compliance with the rules. Justices decide for themselves whether they should recuse in any given case. Clarence Thomas just won’t, because he almost never recuses himself, and the very fact that Democrats are demanding it makes it less likely that he will.

Which Democrats know. They also know it’s unlikely that an investigation would result in an impeachment, let alone a conviction. Many Democrats probably think that, ethically speaking, Thomas isn’t quite guilty of a felony, and so impeachment might not be warranted; you’d need Republicans to convict him, which would absolutely never happen.

Those practical considerations will stay most Democrats’ hands. But when Republicans are in this kind of position, they don’t care whether the practical goals of such an effort will come to pass. For them, raising a stink is an end in itself.

The stink is on the D’s who refuse to raise a stink.

Labor Wins Staten Island Election To Unionize Warehouse.  It’s Amazon’s only unionized workplace in America.  Hmmmm, could this come to Delaware?  What would John Carney do?

Which Is Worse? Hunter Biden’s Laptop, Or Trump’s 7-Hour Gap On January 6?  Some mouth-breather came on our blog yesterday to call Hunter Biden’s laptop the ‘800-pound gorilla’.  Right. Biden’s alleged ne’er-do-well son (as opposed to, say any of Trump’s offspring, who define the term ‘moral rectitude’) has engaged in more insidious behavior than Trump’s actions during his attempt to overthrow the election.  It’s Rethugs raising a stink. Thanks to wuss Democrats, they manage to equate disproportionate sins as if they balance each other out.

Dog Bites Man: GOP Claims That Small Business Is Overregulated.  Because Bryon Short, Quin Johnson, and now Bill Bush haven’t bent over far enough to give business everything they wanted, thanks to the Business Lapdog Committee.

Just read the Delaware State News’ article on Steve Smyk’s entry into the SD 6 race.  No mention of the sexual harassment charges.  Reportorial malpractice.  It should be mentioned in every story on his candidacy. While it wasn’t, Smyk mentioned God, who presumably has no problem with sexual harassment.

What do you want to talk about?

Delaware Political Weekly: March 25-31, 2022

1. Ex-Cop Who Is Being Sued For Sexual Harassment Running For State Senate.  Yes, we’re talking about Steve Smyk, who is looking to ‘step up’ from his state rep seat (RD 20).  Gotta say, that piece in the Cape Gazette is embarrassing, although there’s certainly truth in this:

Smyk, and fellow Cape Region legislators Lopez, and Speaker of the House Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, have earned the moniker The Three Amigos. Smyk said their success has been based on a middle-of-the-road approach to issues that he plans to continue if elected to the Senate. (See how Smyk tricked the ‘reporter’ into suggesting that Schwartzkopf has endorsed his candidacy?  Which may be true, at least surreptitiously.  Memo to the person who ‘typewrote’ this story: Ask Schwratzkopf if he’s endorsing Smyk.  I’m sure Sussex County D’s would like to know.)

Well, that’s true.  Lopez had an affair with Kathleen McGuiness, who was Pete’s campaign treasurer, and with whom Pete has conducted joint fundraisers.  Pete, along with the other Kop Kabal leaders, have not investigated what are clearly serious allegations of sexual harassment by his Amigo Smyk against at least one fellow police officer.  Here’s the original article.   Here is my take on the original article.

Any article about Smyk’s candidacy that does not cover these allegations is incomplete. The press is obligated to share this information with the public.  Anybody know the current status of the civil suit?  Has it been settled? Has it been dismissed?  Or are the cops, per usual, claiming it’s a ‘personnel matter’ and burying anything pertinent?  Isn’t that kind of harassment a crime? Or are police also exempt from sexual harassment of fellow officers?

Everything about this stinks.

2. Republican Primary In Sussex County CD 5. Incumbent John R. Rieley filed this week. He will face off against challenger Keller Hopkins.

3. ‘Democrat’ Ryan Peters’ First Profile Doesn’t Include The Word ‘Democrat’.  More SD 6 shenanigans from someone who literally has never even donated to a D campaign.  I hear he’s a credible candidate.  But he is not a Democrat.  Remains to be seen how that works out in a Democratic primary.

4. Cop Retires, Runs For Kent County Sheriff.  Harrington’s Police Chief, Norman Barlow, retires after 28 years and files to run for Kent County Sheriff. BTW, he’s been named Harrington’s ‘permanent city manager’.  Running as an R.  I guess that’s better than running for a House seat.

That’s all I’ve got. What’d I miss, and whaddayathink?

DL Open Thread: Friday, April 1, 2022

Not a big fan of April Fool’s posts.  This will not be one of them. At least, not on purpose. Fools, however, will almost inevitably be present.

Did Everybody See The First Semi-Expose Of Ft. DuPont In Mainstream Media?  If not, you have now.  While it doesn’t revisit the early years when disgraced former State Rep. Dick Cathcart was given unfettered access to the purse-strings, it’s really good.  BTW, WDEL has made it really difficult to find on the current webpage.  Had to cut-‘n-paste from yesterday’s Open Thread.

Federal Judge Hands Down Sweeping Rejection Of Florida’s Anti-Voting Rights Laws.  Great news, except–surely some Trump judges somewhere will overturn this decision:

Saying that “Florida has a grotesque history of racial discrimination,” a federal district judge struck down most of a controversial election law passed in the state last year, and said the state can’t make any major changes to election regulations for the next 10 years unless a judge clears them first.

U.S. District Judge Mark Walker agreed with voters who sued the state that the bill “runs roughshod over the right to vote, unnecessarily making voting harder for all eligible Floridians, unduly burdening disabled voters, and intentionally targeting minority voters — all to improve the electoral prospects of the party in power.”

Walker said that for the next decade, changes to voting laws that affect third-party registration efforts, drop boxes or “line warming” — in which volunteers offer water or chairs to people waiting in line to vote — must be approved first by the court.

DeSantis Vs. Disney–Will It Happen?  Two blind mice.

Reich: Putin Indeed HAS Relied On Sycophantic Advisors. Makes the story more plausible to me.  BTW, looks like a Russian oil depot got blown up.  Either by Ukrainians, or due to incompetence.

Sorry for this relatively-truncated version.  Got PT on my new hip at 9.  Gotta be in shape to knock doors…

What do you want to talk about?

 

‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes For March 2022

17 songs this month. That’s a lot.  I took another listen through the list on Sunday just to see if I should cut one or two.  I couldn’t.  Meaning, this is one of the best and deepest monthly gatherings of songs in quite some time.  It’s that good. Hope you agree.

Did I mention that this guy is coming to the Arden Gild Hall on Friday, May 13, and that this killer track is his brand new single? I have now. True Orleans indeed:

 

 

Nathan’s Fave This Month?:

There was a time when I might have found this song too languid.  Now, I luxuriate in the languor:

DL Open Thread: Thursday, March 31, 2022

I Sure Hope That Madison Cawthorn Is Telling The Truth For Once.  He almost certainly isn’t, but still:

After Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) went on a podcast and alleged that some of his Republican colleagues in Congress are orgy-frequenting degenerates with a fondness for hard drugs, members of the House GOP had a simple response on Tuesday.

Name names.

According to Politico, lawmakers stood up unprompted and vented their frustration that their 26-year old colleague from North Carolina would suggest that lawmakers “leading on the movement to try and remove addiction” would “do a key bump of cocaine in front of you” or that people “I’ve looked up to through my life” in Congress had invited him to a “sexual get-together” at their homes as Cawthorn told the Warrior Poet Society podcast.  (The Warrior Poet Society podcast?)

Silly Rethugs: Don’t you know that character assassination is reserved to be hurled at your D colleagues?  I suppose now is the time to point out that those most obsessed about aberrant sexual behavior are often the ones most engaged in it.  They should probably just give in to what Tom Waits says: “Don’t you know there ain’t no devil, there’s just God when he’s drunk.”  Makes it easier to forgive themselves after they’ve done that ‘key bump of cocaine in front of (them)’.

Russia Occupied Chernobyl.  Soldiers Now Have Radiation Poisoning.  Cause: Meet effect.  A caveat:  Kos hasn’t been this big a cheerleader since he worshipped at the feet of Hillary Clinton.  Take everything you read about the war at Daily Kos with a healthy dose of skepticism.  Ditto for pretty much every other media outlet.

The Planning Behind The ‘Stop The Steal’ Lie:  Outstanding reporting from Pro Publica and NPR’s Frontline:

Part of the Frontline and ProPublica project focuses on a group that gathered in the weeks after the 2020 election on a South Carolina plantation owned by conservative defamation attorney Lin Wood. Using the property as a temporary headquarters, a team of lawyers and cybersecurity experts gathered and synthesized what they claimed was evidence of election fraud. This group, which included Michael Flynn, the retired three-star Army general and former national security adviser to Trump, and Patrick Byrne, the former CEO of Overstock.com, became a key originator of the since-discredited idea that foreign communist governments had hacked voting machines made by Dominion Voting Systems. The belief was central to justifying the efforts of Trump and his allies to reverse the results of the election.

Watch the doc on NPR.  Right here.

President Manchin Kills Billionaire Tax.  I had the over/under at 24 hours.  Need to check with my bookie to see if I can collect.

More Blatant Corruption At Ft. DuPont.  No, not the resignation of Board Chair Bryon Short, which indeed did happen.  Instead, the lickety-split sale of Grass Dale to the RV Campground developers reveals the corruption of Sen. Poore and Val Longhurst.  Listen to ’em shrug their shoulders and claim there’s nothing they can do:

At the March 10th Board meeting both Short and Longhurst addressed citizen concerns over the sale of the Grass Dale parcel and said there wasn’t anything they could do about it now.

“There seems to be some misunderstanding that the corporation still owns that property, and we do not. That property is in private hands,” said Short.

Longhurst said she and Senator Poore had received communication from about fifty people about Grass Dale.

“They seem to think that we can stop the RV park from going forward which is unfortunate we cannot stop it,” said Longhurst during the board meeting.

Triple Bullshit.  All three were instrumental in the campground arrangement.  Why, wasn’t it just two weeks ago that the two legislative miscreants introduced a ‘charter change’ to enable Delaware City to enrich the ol’ coffers from campground rentals?  Why, yes, yes it was.  Yet here they are lamenting the ‘unfortunate’ ‘fact’ that there’s nothing they can do. Fact is, there’s nothing they’re willing to do because they’re both waist-deep in this corrupt muck.

A big shoutout to WDEL’s Mike Phillips who is the very first reporter to address this unethical morass.

What do you want to talk about?

BREAKING: Cyndie Romer Announces Candidacy To Succeed John Kowalko

I know two things: (a) she seems like a really good candidate on paper; and (b) Mike Matthews really likes her.

Hard to imagine a stronger successor to Kowalko, but it’s still early.

The release:

Cyndie Romer Launches Campaign for the 25th Representative District

(Newark, Delaware) – On Wednesday, March 30, 2022, Newark mom and community
advocate Cyndie Romer launched her campaign to become the next State
Representative for the 25th District.


An IT professional at Diamond Technologies, Romer is a working mother of two
teenagers, Leah and Megan. She and her husband have lived in Newark for nearly
twenty years, where they are both active in the community.


“I am passionate about creating strong schools that strive to serve every
student,” says Romer. “I serve as the parent lead for Newark Charter’s Equity
Champions Group. As a Newark Charter School parent, I am very proud of our
school, but I have also seen first-hand the inequities that exist in our school
district. We must lift up our public schools so that every child can receive a
world-class education.”


In addition to her education advocacy work, Romer is an active member of Moms
Demand Action and the Newark Branch of the NAACP. She is deeply passionate about
women’s issues, LGBTQ+ equality, criminal justice reform and true racial justice.

Her candidacy comes just weeks after long-time legislator Representative John
Kowalko announced his retirement, creating a vacancy in the seat for the first time
since 2006.


Romer will be announcing a public, in-person kickoff event in the coming weeks. For
more information, visit www.romerfordelaware.com .

I’m With Will.

No, this is not a blatantly naked appeal for page views (although if it works I’ll have no objection to it).

I mean, of course he shouldn’t have slapped Chris Rock.

However.

Jada Pinkett Smith has alopecia. She has publicly spoken about the condition since 2018.  It is not a joking matter.  It is an autoimmune disorder that leads to hair loss, total or partial.

Gee, do you understand how people might be sensitive about having it made into a joke?  It can be, and usually is, a traumatic experience.

I will here give a shout-out to Molly Tuttle, a world-class newgrass musician and singer/songwriter.  She gave a fantastic performance here in our Arden Shady Grove a little less than a year ago.  She has taken up the cause on behalf of those who, like her, have alopecia.  Here is her story of performing bald for the first time:

Finally, as the 2017 conference approached, I decided the time had come to reconnect with the alopecia community and also let my fans in on this important part of my life. Before I boarded the plane to Miami, where I would be performing throughout the week without my wig, I uploaded to social media a picture that my friend Kaitlyn had taken of me standing outside my house. The picture looked like the strong woman I had imagined as a teenager. She was smiling and her bald head was shining for the world to see. I didn’t feel confident as I hit send, though. I felt scared and almost sad that I had let the part of me go that was pretending to have hair and pretending that my life had been “normal.” I was petrified at first to leave my wig in my hotel room and join the conference. Staring at the mirror, I thought I looked unfinished without my wig. Even though almost everyone else there was bald, the irrational fear that I would be judged by my appearance crept back in.

Throughout the week I was surrounded by beautiful women and men who truly loved themselves and wouldn’t grow their hair back if they could. I began to realize that if I felt ashamed about being bald I was also casting shame on these people who clearly had no tolerance for that. We all had strikingly similar experiences living with alopecia. I recognized that it must be possible for me to start accepting and celebrating what made me unique just as they had. Slowly I felt parts of myself unfolding and softening. Support also flooded in from fans, friends, and acquaintances who had seen the bald picture of me online. I was so relieved and thankful for the love people showed me in that vulnerable moment. I played for a group of bald children and afterward I started to get angry at the voices in my head telling me that I would be prettier and happier if I had hair. Looking at the adorable kids who were happy just being themselves, I knew that these negative beliefs inside me were not truly my own.

I went to the conference the next year and performed again but it was a different experience. So much had changed in a year and I no longer felt the fear or urge to wear my wig. I felt more like one of the relaxed, confident women I had met the year before. I played for the kids again and met a girl who I now have mentored for almost a year! That week I realized that after 22 years of being bald I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Having alopecia has taught me that there is nothing “normal” about everyone being the same. Humans are beautifully diverse. We all have work to do to make our world a safer and more welcoming place for everyone regardless of appearance, race, age, sexuality, gender identity, disability, or anything else that makes us human. Many of us mean well and don’t realize when we’re using hurtful stereotypes and creating stigma. I think that as a society we can start to heal by educating ourselves and listening to each other’s stories. I hope that by sharing mine I can make the world a better place for the bald kids of the future. Thanks for listening!

Amen.  Let’s educate ourselves and listen to other’s stories.  And not to publicly ridicule them over something for which they have no control.  I would have been proud to do what Will Smith did. Chris Rock was the bully, nobody else.

N’Awlins Star Shamarr Allen Coming To Arden Gild Hall: Friday, May 13

He indeed has earned his monicker of ‘True Orleans’.  He’s bringing his band The Underdawgs with him.  His brand new single from his brand new album:

Here is the 2nd Line he put together for the Quarantine Year:

OK, why not? Here he is with the Underdawgs:

Fuckin’ A!!

Some official bio stuff:

“Shamarr Allen is the definition of New Orleans! Hailing from the Lower 9th Ward, Allen combines that great polyglot of N’Awlins styles, including jazz, hip hop, rock, funk rhythms, blues and country into a gumbo all his own. In addition to collaborating with his fellow funkateers, the Underdawgs, he has joined forces with Willie Nelson, Patti Labelle, and Lenny Kravitz, to name but a few.”

Tickets are $20 for the general public, $15 for Arden Club members.  You can get them right here.  Or (pro-tip), if you’d like to avoid that ticket surcharge, just leave a message in our DL feedback box.  I’ll reserve the tickets in your name, and you can pick ’em up at the box office the night of the show. Face value!

While we’ll of course have seating, I would truly be remiss if I didn’t offer up a dance floor as well.  Consider it done.

Laissez les bon temps roulez!