Author Archives: El Somnambulo

DL Open Thread: Thursday, October 10, 2024

Yes, It’s Horrific.  Just don’t say ‘climate change’.  Or (coming soon), ‘I wonder if my insurance will cover this’.  Over 3 million customers w/o power as I post this.  Don’t think anyone anticipated the severity of the tornadoes, which resulted in multiple deaths.

Delaware Tries To ‘Big-Time’ NCC On Behalf Of Port Expansion.  Aided and abetted by one of Delaware’s most powerful land use attorneys:

During the previous three months, state environmental regulators and a powerful Delaware land-use attorney quietly lobbied the New Castle County Council to keep two pieces of public land – located on opposite sides of Fox Point State Park – zoned for industry.

In emails and in conversations with council members, they argued that one of the properties was necessary for the success of the future Port of Edgemoor container terminal planned at a nearby former chemical plant – a project to which the public (Carney, Bullock, et al) had already committed hundreds of millions of dollars.

And, any effort to hinder the port development by restrictively downzoning the property near the park would “undoubtedly cost taxpayers” even more, land use attorney Shawn Tucker said in an email to the county council.

Tucker, who has represented some of the biggest developers in Delaware, sent the email on behalf of the state-owned entity that oversees the Port of Wilmington, called the Diamond State Port Corporation.

Read the whole article by Karl Baker, and remind yourselves of the Delaware Way secrecy that has permeated pretty much everything involved in the Port negotiations.

Rep. Kim Williams Prepares Legislation To Address Public Employment By Officeholders.  Good.  Definitely should be part of a comprehensive public transparency agenda:

New state laws will be proposed requiring elected officials to disclose any second state-funded job to the Delaware Public Integrity Commission (PIC), and will also push for taxpayer-funded education institutions to comply with the dual employment law, which has been widely ignored for years.

The Dual Employment Audit Report, released by the State Auditor Lydia York last month, reviewed the financial records of elected state officials who also held second jobs at  state-funded organizations, institutions and schools — essentially investigating whether taxpayers were paying them to work two jobs at the same time.

The audit showed that some officials were being paid from multiple taxpayer-funded sources for working the same hours, which is against the dual employment policy, a law enacted for elected officials who hold second jobs at state institutions and/or other jurisdictions of government in the state. 

The findings have raised concerns about the legal and ethical consequences for those involved, prompting Rep. Kimberly Williams (D-Stanton) to look into legislation to mitigate these issues.

One key finding: Nobody currently has any enforcement power.  That must change.

Rethugs Challenge Military Mail-In Ballots.  When Trump says he doesn’t need votes, it’s stuff like this he’s talking about:

Republican congressmen from Pennsylvania have filed a federal lawsuit seeking stricter scrutiny of votes cast by U.S. citizens living abroad, reflecting a new GOP strategy to challenge the eligibility of a group of voters that includes overseas military personnel.

The lawmakers claim in the suit,which was filed this week, that because local election officials in Pennsylvania are not required to verify the identity or eligibility of voters who register overseas, those ballots are vulnerable to fraud. They have asked a federal judge to require officials to set aside completedballots and not count them until voter eligibility can be determined.

The lawsuit is notable for targeting a group of voters long thought to favorRepublicans because of the prevalence of military personnel stationed overseas, but that is now seen as more evenly divided or even leaning Democratic. The suit adds to a long list of Republican-backed litigation around the country with just weeks to go before the Nov. 5 election,with much of it aimed at disqualifying mail-in votes or removing ineligible voters from rolls.

“The policies and procedures around overseas voting have been known for years, if not decades,” said David Becker, who leads the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research, which promotes trust in U.S. elections. “For members of Congress to file a lawsuit four weeks before the presidential election, about a law that is four decades old, is disturbing, and could put the right to vote at risk for many members of the military.”

Multiply this lawsuit by likely hundreds, and you see why Trump doesn’t care about GOTV.  Plans to win in the courts.

What do you want to talk about?

The 30-Day Reports

We’ll keep adding to this post as I get to more reports.  Remember, for those candidates who did not face primaries, this is the first report they must file this year.  An 8-day report is also required, as is a year-end report.

Let’s see what has surfaced so far…

Any doubts that Bill ‘Lumpy’ Carson is a wholly-owned obedient servant for the special interests can be disabused of that notion by reading his report.  Raised $34K, even though he had no primary or general election opponent.  Remember that Trey Paradee-promoted bundling party at the Batson/Kidner lobbying shop?  Took place on May 23.  Not coincidentally, Ol’ Lump got campaign checks from the following the very same day: ACLI (life insurance), AgentPAC, Altria, American Council Of Life Insurers (a duplicate donation, or an honest filing error?) , Barry Guerke, CDI Consulting Services, Continental Casualty Company, Delaware Bankers Association, Delaware Chiropractic Society, Dr. George Schreppler (chiropractor), DSEA Advocacy Fund, GEICO, Harvey Hanna & Associates, Health Executives’ Action League, Laird Stabler & Associates, Mary Kaye McLaughlin, Michael J. Miller (insurance litigator), Montrell Teague (harness driver),  NAMIC Admin. Fund, Nationwide Mutual Ins. Company PAC, Optometry Eye PAC, Parkowski, Guerke & Swayze, PPL Consulting LLC, Rebecca Batson Kidner, Richard Bayard, Smith Capitol Advisors LLC,  Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits LLC, Standard Distributing Company, The Pilots’ Association For the Delaware River & Bay, The Travelers’ Company Inc.,  United Distributors of Delaware, USAA, William Clifton of the Delaware Farm Bureau.

This is about as anti-democratic as it gets.  Ol’ Lump is owned by the insurance companies.  You may have noticed that the priorities of said companies are often in direct conflict with, you know, normal people.  Like Lumpy’s constituents.

Memo To Future House Leadership:  Keep this casually-corrupt bozo away from any committees that consider bills affecting the corporations that own him.

Tim Sheldon donated $600 each to Val Longhurst and George Dudlek.  0 for 2.  This reminds me–did anybody piss away more money with so little effect than the Delaware Building and Trades unions?  They gonna keep throwing away good money after bad? Gonna stick with the same failed leadership?

Here’s a weird one–PAC Local Union 451 started the period with a balance of, wait for it, 1 penny.  Raised no money, but sent a $600 check to Rep. Mimi Minor-Brown, who has no opposition.

Progressive Democrats Of Delaware have maxed out to Claire Snyder-Hall, Frank Burns, and Eric Morrison for the general election.

The 20th RD Democratic Committee contributed $3000 to the campaign of Stell Parker Shelby.  That appears to greatly exceed the legal $600 limit.  Am I wrong?

All Funded Up, And No Place To Spend.  Remember the Little PAC That Could?  Which turned into a repository of pass-through funds for BHL?  Bethany is toast, but People For A Healthy Delaware has a balance of $94,906.  Didn’t spend a penny since the primary.

One constant you see in almost every report from D candidates is that Sarah McBride has maxed out to them.  LBR? Not so much.  OK, I’ll say it–Sarah is becoming the leader of the Delaware Democratic Party in the best way possible.

A weird report from Trippi Congo (dog bites man). Started with a balance of just over $1400.  Reported no new income.  Wrote a check from the campaign to himself for $3K.  Don’t tell me he’s contracting out his campaign bookkeeping to BHL’s husband…

Impressive report from Jane Gruenebaum, a Democrat running for Sussex County Council District 3.  Over $50K raised, none of it from developers and/or LLC’s.

A curious contribution in an otherwise ordinary report from Deb Heffernan‘s campaign.  First State Military Academy donated $400.  Aren’t they a charter that gets state funding?  Is that OK?

Monica Beard, who is challenging the Real Michael Smith in RD 22, raised a respectable $27K this year.  While she’ll no doubt be outspent by Smith, she’s raised enough to be very competitive.  A race to watch–and to volunteer.

Claire Snyder-Hall, who won the D Primary to succeed Pete Schwartzkopf in RD 14, has raised $23K since the primary.  Her opponent, Mike Simpler, has raised $14K this year.  Word on the street, though, is that Simpler may get his very own SuperPAC.  Makes sense.  Claire represents an existential threat to the Forces Of Evil who are protecting the tattered remains of the Delaware Way.

Kim Hoey Stevenson, who is challenging freshman Senator Russ Huxtable, has raised $71K, mostly from the Rethug establishment. Her husband is a big deal with the pro-oil, climate change-denying, Caesar Rodney Institute. Huxtable has been a superb Senator, and I encourage all of you to support him.  Like, right here.

Melissa Brayman, who is the R candidate for New Castle County President, only raised $6K.  I will almost certainly vote for her.  Monique Johns has been strong-arming the D committees for $$’s, she’s hoovering up developer money, oh, and she’s incompetent.  Brayman, at the least, is competent.   And hasn’t been bought and paid for.  Why the fuck would I vote for Johns?

Terrell Williams’ report doesn’t fill me with confidence.  Had about $15K to spend.  Spent about $17K.  All due respect, not the financial profile one would have hoped for in a competitive race,  especially since Kevin Hensley has about $120K on hand.

Anyone doubting that Kyle Evans Gay has her eyes on an even higher office, she’s more than proven that she can raise money.  $224K since the primary.

Mike Ramone raised $78 K since the primary, already had about $44K left over.  Seems a little light to me.

I could be wrong, but I don’t think that a single contributor to Darius Brown‘s campaign lives in his 2nd Senatorial District.

Shout-out to Madinah Wilson-Anton.  All the money she raises, and it’s a decent amount, goes to progressive candidates and progressive causes.  Definitely in the running for my favorite legislator.

Lest you were concerned, you needn’t worry about Matt Meyer‘s ability to raise money post-primary.  He has banked almost $400K since then.  Mike Ramone has raised $78 K.  Can you say ‘smart money’?  Looks like even Mike Houghton is doing penance…

I’m caught up–for now.  More to come…

DL Open Thread: Sunday, October 6, 2024

Feckless Joe Done Got Played.  ‘Some’ people are placing him in the pantheon of great presidents.  Here’s why he’s not:

When Israel defied America’s appeals for restraint by invading Lebanon a few days ago, a reporter asked President Biden if he was comfortable with what had unfolded.

“I’m comfortable with them stopping,” Biden replied plaintively. “We should have a cease-fire now.” He walked away from the podium, grouchy, frustrated and impotent, a self-diminishing president.

It was the latest sign of how Biden keeps getting rolled by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. As the political scientist Ian Bremmer said of Biden’s words on the invasion: “Impact: zero.”

Instead of midwifing the landmark Middle East peace that he hoped for, Biden became the arms supplier for the leveling of Gaza — a war that killed more women and children in a single year than any other war in the last two decades, according to Oxfam.

“The arms supplier for the leveling of Gaza”–and beyond.  There’s no whitewashing his role in this genocide, regardless of ‘good intentions’. Any doubt that he won’t listen to French President Macron on this?:

French President Emmanuel Macron urged countries to stop providing weapons to Israel for its war in the Gaza Strip and expressed concern that the civilians of Lebanon could face a fate similar to that of Palestinians.

“The priority is that we return to a political solution, that we stop delivering weapons to carry out fighting in Gaza,” Macron said in an interview with France Inter, a public radio station, that aired Saturday. France itself, Macron said, was not delivering any weapons.

Macron’s call comes amid mounting public scrutiny of thehigh death toll in Gaza and Israel’s widening conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Macron said Lebanon should not be allowed to “become a new Gaza,” referring to Israel’s ground and air offensive in the country. “The Lebanese people cannot, in turn, be sacrificed,” he added.

Meanwhile, just another collateral damage story:

An Israeli strike on a mosque in the Gaza Strip early Sunday killed at least 19 people, Palestinian officials said, as Israel intensified its bombardment of northern Gaza and southern Beirut in a widening war with Iran-allied militant groups across the region.

Displaced people were sheltering at the mosque that was struck near the main hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah. A further four people were killed in a strike on a school sheltering displaced people near the town.

The Israeli military said both strikes targeted militants, without providing evidence.

Here’s what happened to a doctor just trying to help:

The confines of Gaza’s Nasser hospital are unrecognisable from just a year ago, its regular patients now joined by a flood of war-wounded and the homeless sheltering in its courtyards and corridors. Even many of its doctors are new.

As fighting has shifted through the Gaza Strip during the past year of war, hospitals have been forced to close and doctors to move, seeking the next place to safely operate.

Nasser hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis is now one of the few left operating at any level.

Dr Mohammed Abu Mughaisib, deputy medical coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Palestine, is now leading a team working out of the hospital, having shuttled between different locations for the past year.

“The hospitals are not the hospitals that we used to know,” he says. “Hospitals have specific conditions; they’re organised, there’s only patients [there], but during this war hospitals are places where people are sheltering, bringing their tents, sleeping in the car park and even in the wards because they thought the hospitals are secure.”

In reality, even hospitals have often been far from safe, with more than 500 attacks on healthcare facilities in Gaza in the past 12 months of war, according to the UN, including bombing and raids of some of the biggest, such as Nasser and Gaza City’s al-Shifa hospital.

A Hamas sympathizer in every janitorial closet?  You fuckers can act as apologists all you want, you are complicit in genocide.

Am I the only one concerned about Kos’ triumphalism over Kamala Harris’ campaign?  He’s revisiting his 2016 slobbering for all-things-Hillary again.  Just had to excise that from my psyche.  Pretty sure I’m the only one.

Don’t Like The Looks Of This Potential Hurricane.  Just don’t blame it on climate change.  Ron DeSantis won’t:

Tropical Storm Milton, which formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, is expected to become a hurricane late Sunday or early Monday. The storm is expected to pose a major hurricane threat to Florida by midweek, just over a week after Helene pushed through the region.

The National Hurricane Center says that “there is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and wind impacts for portions of the west coast of the Florida Peninsula beginning late Tuesday or Wednesday.”

What do you want to talk about?

DL Open Thread: Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024

55,000 Bibles.  The Oklahoma Superintendent has ordered a Bible in every classroom.  The RFP limits the Bible that must be purchased to, wait for it:

Bids opened Monday for a contract to supply the state Department of Education with 55,000 Bibles. According to the bid documents, vendors must meet certain specifications: Bibles must be the King James Version; must contain the Old and New Testaments; must include copies of the Pledge of Allegiance, Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights; and must be bound in leather or leather-like material.

A salesperson at Mardel Christian & Education searched, and though they carry 2,900 Bibles, none fit the parameters.

But one Bible fits perfectly: Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the U.S.A. Bible, endorsed by former President Donald Trump and commonly referred to as the Trump Bible. They cost $60 each online, with Trump receiving fees for his endorsement. 

Mardel doesn’t carry the God Bless the U.S.A. Bible or another Bible that could meet the specifications, the We The People Bible, which was endorsed by Donald Trump Jr. It sells for $90.

“The RFP on its face seems fair, but with additional scrutiny, we can see there are very few Bibles on the market that would meet these criteria, and all of them have been endorsed by former President Donald Trump,” Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice Executive Director Colleen McCarty said.

Kinda makes you wonder, has Lee Greenwood fallen on hard times as well?

Some (Temporary) Good News On Climate Regulation:

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to blocknew Biden administration rules requiring fossil-fuel-fired power plants to slash emissions of mercury and other toxic substances and oil and gas firms to curb methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from their operations.

The issues were two of three playing out on the Supreme Court’s emergency docket over a suite of Biden administration plans to clean up fossil fuels. Together, those plans represent some of the president’s most ambitious efforts to address climate change and reduce pollution.

The court has yet to act on an emergency request to block a plan to curb greenhouse gas emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants.

Nearly two dozen Republican-led states and a handful of power generators asked to pause the mercury rules, which were finalized in May, while litigation over them continues in lower courts. The challengers argue that the regulations impose heavy costs while providing negligible direct health benefits to the public; power plants must comply with them by July 2027.

Lawsuits like these are why the Caesar Rodney Institute exists.  It’s all about the oil money..

Republican Legislator Tells Conspiracy Theorists To Just Stop:

A Republican senator in the North Carolina legislature has issued a public plea for people to stop spreading conspiracy theories about the disaster recovery efforts in areas ravaged by flooding from Hurricane Helene.

In a Thursday afternoon Facebook post, state Sen. Kevin Corbin, who represents the state’s westernmost area, asked his followers for a favor: “Will you all help STOP this conspiracy theory junk that is floating all over Facebook and the internet about the floods in WNC.”

Corbin listed several examples: “FEMA is stealing money from donations, body bags ordered but government has denied, bodies not being buried, government is controlling the weather from Antarctica, government is trying to get lithium from WNC, stacks of bodies left at hospitals, and on and on and on.”

State Sen. Corbin said in his Facebook post that FEMA was on the scene, as were National Guard soldiers and power company workers. And he suggested that conspiracy theories have been harmful since they have taken up lawmakers’ time as they try to coordinate relief.

“Please don’t let these crazy stories consume you or have you continually contact your elected officials to see if they are true,” Corbin wrote, adding that one of his senate colleagues had received 15 calls on Thursday asking him to stop a variety of nefarious plots. “I’m growing a bit weary of intentional distractions from the main job …. which is to help our citizens in need.”

Gee, wonder what RWNJ is gearing up to primary him in 2026…

The Two Men Who Engineered The Electoral System In Favor Of Rethugs.  One, Leonard Leo, you know.  The other, you should:

Two men recognized and exploited the anti-democratic loopholes within America’s rickety democracy in order to deliver Republicans victories that they could never win at the ballot box.

Now their willfully minoritarian creations threaten the very essence of a representative democracy: if Donald Trump, rightwing courts, gerrymandered state legislatures and an extreme Republican caucus in the US House of Representatives create constitutional chaos over the certification of this presidential election, two men cleared the path.

The single-minded determination of Leonard Leo built a conservative supermajority on the US supreme court and stacked lower and state courts with Republican ideologues that have pushed the nation to the right via the least accountable branch of government.

Chris Jankowski masterminded the partisan gerrymanders that tilted state legislatures and congressional delegations across the south and the purple midwest toward extreme Republicans, ended Barack Obama’s second term before it started, and rendered elections in Wisconsin and North Carolina all but meaningless over the last decade and a half.

Leo and Jankowski understood, separately, that the courts and state legislatures were undervalued and often undefended targets for a deliberate strategy aimed at capturing important levers of power that sometimes float under the radar. They could be Moneyball-ed, to borrow the term Michael Lewis used in his book about how the Oakland A’s made an end-run around large-market teams by understanding value that their opponents overlooked.

A lengthy article, well worth reading.

John Carney–Still An Asshole.  It may have gone unnoticed, but Carney refused to sign Paul Baumbach’s HB 377, the bill requiring ‘the State (to) continue to offer eligible pensioners first employed by the State as a regular officer or employee (first employed) before January 1, 2025, a plan that is comparable to the current Special Medicfill Medicare Supplement plan.  It went into effect on October 1 without his signature.  Before anyone gives him credit for not vetoing it outright, remember that the bill passed unanimously in both houses.  You can bet that the House and Senate would have returned lickety-split to override that veto.  I’m serious when I warn employees  and retirees of the City Of Wilmington to beware of Carney looking to cut your benefits and to screw you.  It’s what he believes and it’s what he’s tried to do.

What do you want to talk about?

DL Open Thread: Friday, October 4, 2024

Bad Day For Trump Evildoers:

Tina Peters:

DENVER (AP) — Former Colorado clerk Tina Peters, the first local election official to be charged with a security breach after the 2020 election as unfounded conspiracy theories swirled, was found guilty by a jury on most charges Monday.

Peters, a one-time hero to election deniers, was accused of using someone else’s security badge to give an expert affiliated with My Pillow chief executive Mike Lindell access to the Mesa County election system and deceiving other officials about that person’s identity.

Judge sentenced her to nine years in prison yesterday.

‘Lady Trump’ Michele Fiore:

Former Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore was convicted of federal fraud charges Thursday after she used donations intended for a fallen police officer’s memorial for her personal gain, marking a downfall for the firebrand conservative who nearly became Nevada’s treasurer two years ago.

The case centered on the construction of a statue honoring Alyn Beck, a Las Vegas police officer killed in the line of duty in 2014. Federal prosecutors accused Fiore — across six months in 2019 and 2020 while serving as a councilwoman — of soliciting donations to her PAC and nonprofit for the construction of the statue but using the money for personal use, including her rent, plastic surgery and another daughter’s wedding.

In 2022, she narrowly lost a bid for state treasurer — during which she appeared in a campaign ad shooting beer bottles with the labels “vaccine mandate” and “CRT” (critical race theory), and said she didn’t mind people bringing guns into courtrooms because “an armed society is a polite society.” Shortly after, she was appointed as a justice of the peace in rural Nye County, winning another term outright this year.

In 2015, she released a gun-themed calendar and was particularly outspoken in support of the Bundy ranching family, who were at the center of the infamous standoff regarding cattle grazing on federal land. Following her fraud indictment, Fiore accused prosecutors of engaging in the same type of misconduct as they did related to the Bundy family.

Tamara Parry:

A Seattle doctor whose medical license was suspended after she participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol was shot and killed after pointing a gun at two people delivering paperwork at her West Seattle home on Tuesday.

Towers Parry, who was in the midst of eviction proceedings, came out of her house and pointed a shotgun at the two men before the 40-year-old, armed with a handgun, opened fire. In a phone call Wednesday, Pritchard said the men did not work in law enforcement and were not there to evict Towers, but he would not describe the paperwork they were delivering.

Tuesday’s shooting happened less than two weeks after Towers Parry’s home was foreclosed on and scheduled to be sold at a Sept. 20 auction, King County housing records show. Towers Parry had failed to make about $24,000 in mortgage payments and still owed more than $225,000 on the home, which she previously shared with her ex-husband, according to the records.

A photo taken of the house on Tuesday showed a large U.S. flag hanging from the home’s front window underneath the word “QAnon,” the name of a far-right conspiracy theory that gained traction online after the 2016 election of former President Donald Trump.

Brian Comer. The real menace to the geese of Springfield, Ohio:

NEW: I’ve received evidence of an arrest for illegal geese harvesting in Springfield, Ohio. But it wasn’t a Haitian immigrant who was arrested. It was a white man named Brian Comer, who shot two geese with a shotgun on a golf course.

According to the affidavit by an Ohio Division of Wildlife officer, the golfer approached Comer about the dead goose in the pond, and Comer said there would be several more dead geese in a few minutes. Comer reportedly then got on his lawnmower with a shotgun and fired twice, killing a second goose.

The golfer told police that Comer picked up the first goose and tossed it into the weeds and then broke the neck of the second bird, which had been wounded, according to the affidavit.

The Vanishing Rethug GOP GOTV Operation.  Resistance to outsourcing this to Turning Point likely led to the ouster of Ronna McDaniel as R National Chair.  She, um, might have had a point:

How much any of this means for the 2024 GOP ground operation I don’t know. But it at least seems clear to me, clearer than it was earlier, that the impetus for a lot of this stuff started with Turning Points USA, Charlie Kirk and the folks around him. They started pushing their role as the GOP’s GOTV oversee and McDaniel’s resistance to that led to his year long war against her which played some significant role in her eventual ouster. The biggest immediate effect of that changing of the guard, in which daugher-in-law Lara Trump and Michael Whatley took over, was shutting down the RNC’s GOTV and field operations and outsourcing it to outside groups the biggest of which was Turning Point USA and its affiliated groups.

When Turning Point first pitched its $108 million plan to do GOTV work it was for three states: Arizona (where they’re based), Wisconsin and Georgia. In some accounts it was Arizona, Wisconsin and Michigan, with more activists operating across all the swing states. The lack of specificity about Georgia or Michigan may suggest that the plan was flexible depending on who agreed to fund the plan. By late summer the list had been pared back to Arizona and Wisconsin because of limited funds, according to a Turning Points’ spokesperson. Just this evening Politico reported that Turning Points is pulling out of Wisconsin and handing its operation over to Elon Musk’s America PAC. The plan is presented as combining operations. But read the piece and that’s not quite it. As a Turning Points spokesperson Andrew Kolvet put it, “with America PAC taking over many of the organization’s expenses in Wisconsin, Turning Point Action will now redirect resources toward its existing field program in Arizona and a new initiative in which the organization pays for hotel rooms for volunteers to door-knock in Wisconsin and Arizona during early voting periods.” The decision is “not only good for Wisconsin,” but allows Turning Point Action “to double down in Arizona.”

In other words, Turning Points Action, which seems to have played a major role in shaping the 2024 GOP ground game plan and was billed as the muscle to take over the work from the RNC now seems to be down to field work in Arizona with an agreement to pay for hotel rooms in Wisconsin.

How US State Department Cleared The Way For Israel To Decimate Gaza:

In late January, as the death toll in Gaza climbed to 25,000 and droves of Palestinians fled their razed cities in search of safety, Israel’s military asked for 3,000 more bombs from the American government. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew, along with other top diplomats in the Jerusalem embassy, sent a cable to Washington urging State Department leaders to approve the sale, saying there was no potential the Israel Defense Forces would misuse the weapons.

The cable did not mention the Biden administration’s public concerns over the growing civilian casualties, nor did it address well-documented reports that Israel had dropped 2,000-pound bombs on crowded areas of Gaza weeks earlier, collapsing apartment buildings and killing hundreds of Palestinians, many of whom were children. Lew was aware of the issues. Officials say his own staff had repeatedly highlighted attacks where large numbers of civilians died. Homes of the embassy’s own Palestinian employees had been targeted by Israeli airstrikes.

Still, Lew and his senior leadership argued that Israel could be trusted with this new shipment of bombs, known as GBU-39s, which are smaller and more precise. Israel’s air force, they asserted, had a “decades-long proven track record” of avoiding killing civilians when using the American-made bomb and had “demonstrated an ability and willingness to employ it in [a] manner that minimizes collateral damage.”

While that request was pending, the Israelis proved those assertions wrong. In the months that followed, the Israeli military repeatedly dropped GBU-39s it already possessed on shelters and refugee camps that it said were being occupied by Hamas soldiers, killing scores of Palestinians. Then, in early August, the IDF bombed a school and mosque where civilians were sheltering. At least 93 died. Children’s bodies were so mutilated their parents had trouble identifying them.

Weapons analysts identified shrapnel from GBU-39 bombs among the rubble.

Siemens Underpaid Delaware Women At Glasgow Plant:

A Delaware manufacturing plant just outside Newark had been systematically underpaying its female system engineers and has agreed to give a handful of employees pay raises and backpay, according to federal officials.

The Glasgow manufacturing plant for German-owned Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics produces components for tests that help physicians diagnose, monitor and treat diseases.

In what Department of Labor officials called a “routine compliance review,” federal officials found that Siemens “paid females in system engineer roles less than male counterparts in similar positions.” Federal auditors arrived at this conclusion through statistical analysis of system engineers’ pay.

While notable, I included this article for the following excerpt:

In 2021, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics received nearly $2 million from the Delaware Strategic Fund for a $32 million expansion of the facility, which the company said would add 500 jobs to the 1,300 employees already employed. Siemens acquired the manufacturing facility in 2007 as part of its purchase of lab diagnostics company Dade Behring.

Did the expansion take place?  Did the company add the 500 jobs? What, if any, procedures does the (private, thanks, Carney!) Delaware Strategic Fund have in place to make sure that its generous handouts are not just another slush fund similar to Bethany Hall Long’s Opioid Slush Fund?

I want to see Matt Meyer make this disbursement of public funds to corporations a public function again, complete with oversight and protections against the misuse of this largesse.  Undo one of Carney’s worst initiatives. 

What do you want to talk about?

DL Open Thread: Thursday, October 3, 2024

Unsure of your Presidential pick?  Might I suggest–Vermin Supreme?  He is somehow on Delaware’s ballot as a candidate for the ‘Conservative Party Of DE’, which doesn’t strike me as particularly conservative:

Vermin Love Supreme (1960 or 1961) is an American performance artist and activist who has run as a novelty candidate in various local, state, and national elections in the United States. He served as a member of the Libertarian Party’s judicial committee. Supreme is known for wearing a boot as a hat and carrying a comically large toothbrush, and has said that if elected President of the United States, he will pass a law requiring people to brush their teeth. He has campaigned on a platform of zombie apocalypse awareness and time travel research, and promised a free pony for every American.

Gotta love someone who lives their gimmick 24/7.  Wearing a boot on his head just might sway me in his direction.

Yep, Rethugs Made NC Flooding Worse.  Whenever you hear about ‘cutting through bureaucratic red tape’, keep stuff like this in mind:

Over the past 15 years, North Carolina lawmakers have rejected limits on construction on steep slopes, which might have reduced the number of homes lost to landslides; blocked a rule requiring homes to be elevated above the height of an expected flood; weakened protections for wetlands, increasing the risk of dangerous storm water runoff; and slowed the adoption of updated building codes, making it harder for the state to qualify for federal climate-resilience grants.

“The home builders association has fought every bill that has come before the General Assembly to try to improve life safety,” said Ms. Wooten, who works for Facilities Strategies Group, a company that specializes in building engineering. She said that state lawmakers, many of whom are themselves home builders or have received campaign contributions from the industry, “vote for bills that line their pocketbooks and make home building cheaper.”

(Not) Breaking: Trump Tried To Steal Presidency.  More Trump treason shit.  May not hurt Trump, but won’t help him either:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump laid the groundwork to try to overturn the 2020 election even before he lost, knowingly pushed false claims of voter fraud and “resorted to crimes” in his failed bid to cling to power, according to a newly unsealed court filing from prosecutors that offers new evidence from the landmark criminal case against the former president.

The filing from special counsel Jack Smith’s team offers the most comprehensive view to date of what prosecutors intend to prove if the case charging Trump with conspiring to overturn the election reaches trial. Though a months-long congressional investigation and the indictment itself have chronicled in stark detail Trump’s efforts to undo the election, the filing cites previously unknown accounts offered by Trump’s closest aides to paint a portrait of an “increasingly desperate” president who while losing his grip on the White House “used deceit to target every stage of the electoral process.”

An Insight Into GOTV.  You’ll see a reference to MiniVAN.  As someone who loves going door-to-door, MiniVAN has been a godsend:

It’s first and foremost a data challenge – you have to get your volunteers to the right doors with the right messages, and you have to take what they learn and use it to adjust the next knock or call. It’s equal part art and science and is not something anyone can just pick up and learn in no time. A key step is “cutting turf” – setting up a list of names and addresses for a volunteer to knock (or call) – you don’t just knock every house on a street, because you have to prioritize. Choosing which turfs to prioritize (you never get to them all, at least not enough times), choosing which names in a neighborhood or town or county to contact, using the data you get from the previous knocks to adjust your strategy for the next knock… that’s important.

Dems mostly use the VAN – Voter Activation Network – which is a rich data source with information going back decades. I sometimes knock voters where there are assessments from the Dukakis/Bush race. VAN has an app for your phone now, called MiniVAN, where you enter your canvass data as you go and it updates automatically, saving a TON of time on the data entry side.

Meanwhile, Rethugs are outsourcing GOTV.  In close elections, this could well be the deciding factor.

Chaos Is The Point.  Rethugs flood Federal government with information requests to…:

Three investigators for the Heritage Foundation have deluged federal agencies with thousands of Freedom of Information Act requests over the past year, requesting a wide range of information on government employees, including communications that could be seen as a political liability by conservatives. Among the documents they’ve sought are lists of agency personnel and messages sent by individual government workers that mention, among other things, “climate equity,” “voting” or “SOGIE,” an acronym for sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.

The Heritage team filed these requests even as the think tank’s Project 2025 was promoting a controversial plan to remove job protections for tens of thousands of career civil servants so they could be identified and fired if Donald Trump wins the presidential election.

Chaos Is The Point–Delaware Edition:

A lawsuit filed in Delaware’s Superior Court on Monday aims to stop electric cables from being buried under Delaware-controlled waters and coastline for a controversial offshore wind project.

US Wind’s Maryland Offshore Wind Project off the Delmarva coast has proposed running power transmission cables from its wind farm three miles offshore in the Atlantic Ocean to 3Rs Beach at Delaware Seashore State Park. The cables would run beneath Delaware-regulated wetlands, state waters and the Indian River Bay and connect to a substation near a former power plant.

Former judge and GOP party chair Jane Brady filed the case on behalf of the Caesar Rodney Institute, a Delaware think tank that has connections to the fossil fuel industry and has promoted misinformation about the connection between offshore wind and whale deaths. The suit also names two commercial fishermen as plaintiffs — Wes Townsend and George Merrick.

The lawsuit contends the permit applications for the project are incomplete because of a missing report from the Division of Watershed Stewardship and the lack of a zoning permit for the substation. The suit asks the court to forbid the state from allowing the project to proceed.

What do you want to talk about?

Was The DelDems Coordinated Campaign Merely An LBR Vanity Project?

You’ll notice the use of the past tense.

Word on the street is that indeed LBR’s team was functioning as the Party’s Coordinated Campaign team and that–they all just resigned and went back exclusively to LBR’s campaign.  Candidates are being informed of this as the news surfaces in DL.

Our local committee had a fleeting Rosencrantz/Guildenstern glimpse into that so-called coordinated campaign as we were told that, if we were able to put together some sort of public event, LBR would show up at it and we might even get some money. The other district committees were presented with the same ‘offer’.  Most committees don’t have enough time or money to put together a one-car funeral much less to coordinate such an event.  Our committee did, but we decided “Fuck it”.  They’re the ones supposed to be coordinating, not leaving it to the local committees to put together events starring Lisa Blunt Rochester.

Word on the street is also that Sarah McBride’s team has jumped into the lurch to try to help the down-ballot candidates, which indeed is the purpose of a coordinated campaign.  To be honest, though, we on our committee had had no outreach from the so-called coordinated campaign in months.  Some guy showed up back in something like April, think he was from Virginia.  Crickets ever since.  We’re way better off with whatever help Sarah’s team can provide.  It’s not like the state Party is worth a shit, and I suspect that fundraising is in the dumps what with the Party going all-in on BHL.  Although–we’ve always had something approximating a coordinated campaign in the past, usually headed by the person at the top of the ticket.  For all his faults, it’s a responsibility that Tom Carper took seriously.

So. The question remains–why did this happen?  Was it because Matt Denn got the endorsement for Lieutenant Governor over Ted Blunt back in 2008? Dad Blood Equals Bad Blood? (I stole that line.)  Could be, because Betsy’s dad was the Party Chair then. Ted Blunt’s politics were always…malleable.  ‘Slick’ is the word that comes to mind.  He ran as a Republican against Lonnie George for State Rep District 1 back in 1982.  Is it because Lisa is focused on something else if Kamala wins? Hard to fathom that one, but who knows?

You tell me.  Plus, if you’ve got some inside dirt, spill it.  Here.

What We’ve Accomplished, What We Need To Do

The primaries have come and gone.  If anything, I don’t think people realize just how much things have changed as a result.  There’s more to do, coming later in this piece, but here’s what has already happened:

Bethany Hall Long is toast.  In a just world, she should and would be indicted for misuse of public funds.  Case in point: Half a mill to Wilmington’s leading tax delinquents.  Money down the drain?  Matt Meyer may not be ‘all that’, but he’s replacing John Carney.  Big plus.

Val Longhurst is toast. She was an arguably human roadblock against key legislation, including LEOBOR, and she helped to turn the House into a miserable place to work.  Kamela Smith is a huge upgrade, plus, as Gene Mauch once said, “Sometimes you add by subtracting”.

Pete Schwartzkopf and Kathy McGuiness are toast. Excising these two from positions of authority would be a big plus even if Claire Snyder-Hall wasn’t likely to replace them.  Big shout-out to Marty Rendon for immediately joining forces with Claire.

Mike Ramone has been replaced by–Frank Burns! We’ve just about got that super-majority now, meaning no more walkouts by Rethugs who argue that LLC’s are people.

Sean Matthews has been replaced by Melanie Ross Levin.  Or, will be replaced once Levin dispatches gun-nut Brent Burdge in the general.  No more of those seemingly-inexplicable votes by Matthews against safe gun bills and LEOBOR.

Kevin Caneco replaces Bill Bell on NCC Council.  County Council is slowly, but inexorably, moving away from being a rubber stamp for developers.

Wilmington City Council has become more progressive.  With the addition of Coby Owens and Christian Willauer.  Which reminds me, does Trippi Congo’s tax delinquency render him ineligible to serve as Wilmington City Council President?  Inquiring minds want to know.

Here’s what we need to do:

Make sure that Claire Snyder-Hall and Eric Morrison win their general elections.  I want my Sussex Spies to keep close tabs on Pistol Pete during the general, and I want the House Democratic Caucus to provide the support to Eric that was deliberately lacking two years ago.

You say you want a super-majority in the House?  Volunteer for the campaigns of Monica Beard (against the Real Mike Smith),  Terrell Williams (against Kevin Hensley), and Tracey Miller (against Lyndon Yearick).  Hockessin’s the closest to me, so that’s where I’m heading, but all three races should at least be competitive. And Miller has been everywhere!

Volunteer for Sen. Russ Huxtable, who is facing an R opponent with ties to the Caesar Rodney Institute.

Two names to watch post-Election Day: Mara Gorman and Josue Ortega. Gorman brings a strong resume of progressive leadership and is about as ideal a replacement for Paul Baumbach as one could find.  As disappointed as I am in what happened to Branden Fletcher Dominguez, I am hopeful that Ortega will bring the same commitment to public service to Dover as his father, Demetrio Ortega, Jr., brought to Wilmington City Council.

What saieth thou?

Oregon Odds ‘N Ends

Needed to get these vacation thoughts out of my head so that I can return to (Memo To Self: Find a therapist) the harsh reality of Delaware politics:

1.  The Buick Envision is a suck-ass car.  Keyless ignition, which is un-American (more on that later);  A series of sounds that you would need to memorize the manual to understand; a panoramic dashboard that is distracting–replete with a warning to not take your eyes off the road, which would seem to argue for a less distracting dashboard;  an annoying shifter that never works the first time: a seat-belt alarm that goes off before your butt hits the seat; impossible-to-find essential features like the hand brake. The entire car is manufactured in, wait for it, China.  As to that keyless ignition–I loaded the suitcases in the car for the trip to the airport around 4 am on Sunday, my wife drove and, following the mandatory rent-a-car fill-up, got there around 4:40.  We breezed right through TSA pre-check (apparently nobody there has read what I post here), got to the metal detectors, and I realized that the car keys were still in my pocket because, you know, I opened the car to load it, never thought twice about it because my wife was driving. Because of the fucking keyless ignition. Cost me $65 bucks to overnight it back to Hertz.

2.  Bend is a really cool city.  An oasis of progressivism in a desert of Trump-Vance signs that line the roadway the last 100 miles or so of farm and ranch into town.  A great amphitheatre where we saw Orville Peck, who has a large cult following.  Many of them came decked out in masks and western finery.  He’s coming to Philly later this month.  If you get the chance to go, by all means go.  An unforgettable performer.

3. Oregonians love breakfast, and there are loads of places there to get a great breakfast.  You can have a really great fast breakfast at Cheryl’s in Portland (complimentary beignets!), and a really great slow breakfast at the Lemon Tree in Bend (be sure to enjoy a very generous Blood Orange Mimosa at the latter).

4. Weather was perfect almost the entire trip.  The rainy season hadn’t started yet, likely making for powerful age-worthy pinots.  So, we took the alternate route back from Bend to Portland (Rt. 20) through the Cascades and the Willamette Forest District.  You’re not likely to find a more beautiful drive.

5.  Hit up Powell’s Books, and I read three real good ones while on vacation: ‘Devil In A Blue Dress’ by Walter Mosley (about bleeping time I got around to that one); ‘Small Mercies’ by Dennis Lehane; and I rolled the dice on this debut novel, and came up a big winner.  Laugh-out-loud funny in spots, great musical references, and some fascinating low-life characters.   Also gotta love the author’s bio:

J.D. O’Brien was educated by nuns and holds a degree from the Jack Dempsey Bartending School in New York City. He edited the comedy zine Flop Sweat and his writing has appeared in Arthur Magazine, Dazed and Confused, McSweeney’s, and elsewhere. His essay on Chevy Chase was anthologized in The Lowbrow Reader Reader, published by Drag City Books. He has worked as a bartender, cold caller, dishwasher, and Strand Bookstore employee. After stints in New York City, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon, he returned to his home of western Massachusetts. He has a dog named Lefty.

Can’t wait to read whatever he comes up with next.

OK.  All unpacked.  Back to my usual drivel, starting tomorrow.

‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes: September, 2024

Yet another cool band out of Philly.  Power pop fans, check this one out:

How’s this for a last-minute unexpected surprise?:

Kind-of a Sonic Youth feel. ”Cept they really ARE youthful:

Jonatan Leandoer 96:

Voice like Ryan Adams, attitude like early Mac Demarco (‘Viceroy’), with a soupcon of Freedy Johnston.  Nathan’s favorite?:

“I dropped all my fake friends like calories”:

I’m not one for nostalgia with these lists.  Much prefer to focus on artists on the way up or in their prime.  However, when the greatest band ever to come out of LA puts out their final album, and the song’s really good,  I’ll wallow, at least for 2 minutes and 13 seconds:

I used to book shows with a great agent out in California, Brad Madison.  Mongrel Music, my kind of agency.  Booked a really cool performer named Sarah Borges through him. Twice. The agent described her thusly:  “She worships at the altar of X.”  Not the only one.

Hey, kids, be sure to check out the Easter Eggs I’ve shared this month.  You’ll love ’em. And for you youngsters out there, you’ll learn something.

Coward Carney Vetoes End Of Life Legislation

Alternate Title: ‘Carney’s Discomfort Causes Excruciating Pain For The Terminally-Ill’.

Waited until after the election to even retrieve the bill, then vetoed it almost immediately:

In his veto letter to state lawmakers, Carney said he does not believe there is “firm consensus” on the issue within the medical community.

“Although I understand not everyone shares my views, I am fundamentally and morally opposed to state law enabling someone, even under tragic and painful circumstances, to take their own life,” he wrote. “As I have shared consistently, I am simply not comfortable letting this piece of legislation become law.”

Translation:’I am more comfortable in having people die in excruciating pain because, gosh darn it, I’m just not comfortable signing this.”

A despicable act from a cowardly idiot.   Were there a Delaware Hall Of Shame, he’d be in on the first ballot.

Things I Want To See Happen…

…while we’re visiting our daughter in Portland, Oregon where, BTW, we’re attending concerts by Fontaines DC and Orville Peck.

1.  I want to see Matt Meyer achieve a rapprochement with DSEA.  I especially want him to commit to being a Governor who prioritizes public schools, including the naming of a public school champion to be Secretary Of Education.

2.  I want to see a lock-box placed on any more disbursements from BHL’s Opioid Slush Fund.  If it takes legal action by AG Kathy Jennings, so be it.  Not one more check should be written until/unless this Commission is reformed after January, and until an audit is completed by Lydia York on the funds already appropriated.

3.  I want to see House oversight of any spending that lame duck Val Longhurst might approve as the still-Speaker Of The House.  No sense letting more ill-gotten gains sneak out the door.

4.  I want to see an influx of volunteers to the campaigns of Monica Beard, Tracey Miller and Terrell Williams.  I plan to focus on Nick’s campaign when I get back.

5.  I want to see Matt Meyer, Sarah McBride, and Kyle Evans Gay, among others, donate to the campaigns of the three D challengers listed above.  A super-majority would look great for a new incoming Democratic administration.  And they’ve all got the money.  Sarah has already donated $100K to the national House D Campaign Committee.

6.  I want to see John Carney sign Paul Baumbach’s Right To Die Bill.  Read this News-Journal piece, and decide for yourselves why Carney slow-walked it.  Clearly, alleviating someone’s pain and suffering is not a priority of his.  Worst Governor Ever.

That’s for starters.  Something for you to chew on while I inhale the raw oysters at Jacqueline in Portland.  Not only is it among our fave restaurants there, it bears the name of my wife.

DL Open Thread: Friday, September 20, 2024

‘black NAZI!’ Still Running For Governor In North Carolina.  I’m calling it now–Harris wins NC:

Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson of North Carolina, the Republican nominee for governor with a long history of inflammatory and offensive remarks in the battleground state, on Thursday vowed to stay in the race as CNN reported that he had once called himself a “black NAZI!” and defended slavery on a pornographic forum.

In an 82-second video released before the CNN article had published, Mr. Robinson sought to undercut the report, which unearthed old comments that he had reportedly made on “Nude Africa,” a pornographic site with a message board.

Mr. Robinson, a social conservative who has been a strident opponent of transgender rights, also posted about how he enjoyed watching transgender pornography, according to CNN, describing himself as a “perv” who liked “tranny on girl porn.”

CNN said it had chosen to publish only some of Mr. Robinson’s messages, many of which were sexually explicit and graphic in nature. He made the comments between 2008 and 2012, according to the report.

To verify that Mr. Robinson was the poster behind the comments, CNN identified the username “minisoldr” as one Mr. Robinson used frequently online. In addition to matching biographical details, the report said, Mr. Robinson had listed his full name on the Nude Africa site along with an email address that he had used on various websites “for decades.”

Yesterday at midnight was the deadline for Robinson to pull out of the race.  He didn’t.  Q: Where do they find these people?  A: Donald Trump:

For years, Donald Trump has directly and indirectly foisted damaging candidates on the GOP, in ways that have obviously cost his party dearly — up to and probably including control of the Senate.

It’s not just his endorsements of several flawed statewide candidates who went on to badly underperform and lose key races; it’s also the ethos he’s created in the party. He’s placed a premium on owning the libs and devotion to Trump, and he’s devalued political bona fides. He has effectively encouraged his party to overlook a Trump-loyal candidate’s very obvious baggage, by dismissing it as lies from the liberal media or even viewing it as an asset.

This whole thing was also utterly predictable and potentially avoidable, but for Trump. Robinson has been saying highly controversial things for years, but he wound up getting only token opposition in the GOP primary. Trump helped grease the skids by signaling as far back as June 2023 that he would be supporting Robinson.

As much as that actual endorsement, though, it’s about Trump making Republicans believe they can win with candidates such as Robinson, despite all the evidence to the contrary in swing states in recent years. Robinson, a candidate who probably wouldn’t have stood a chance in a GOP primary a decade ago, wound up winning the primary by 46 points.

The irony here is that Trump this year has actually endorsed fewer obviously flawed candidates in key states, allowing some establishment-oriented Republicans to emerge from primaries.

But not everywhere. And now it’s throwing a wrench into his own race.

Sad.

From Texas–May Mean Nothing, But…:

In the race for the Senate, Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio is the only Democrat to see his margin against his Republican opponent shrink since the debate, while Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas now trails his Democratic challenger well within the survey’s margin of error.

If you’re so inclined, check out his website and maybe contribute.  I know that campaign hours are precious, but as Daily Kos suggested, a Harris (County) For Harris rally just might help yield that 50th Senate vote.

Hillbilly Sheriff Kills Hillbilly Judge.  I’m all in favor of letting everybody in this neck of the woods have their own weapons.  Call it ‘culling the herd’.

Israel Wreaks Havoc On Lebanon:  Indiscriminate Destruction:

A large proportion of the injuries were facial and resulted in partial or total loss of vision. Dr Elias Warrak, an ophthalmologist at Mount Lebanon University hospital, stated that in 25 years of practice, he had “never removed as many eyes” as he had been obliged to do on Tuesday. Hospitals around the country, but especially in the southern suburbs of Beirut and the south of Lebanon, were overwhelmed as they struggled to keep up with the sheer volume of victims who required urgent attention. Still, by Thursday blood donors were being turned away from hospitals. Enough blood had been taken for the time being.

If the aim of the attack was to spread fear and panic in the streets of Lebanon, then it succeeded. I saw the terror in the eyes of ordinary people who had recognised it in the eyes of others, who feared for their own lives and those of their loved ones. The indiscriminate detonation of explosive devices in public spaces resulted in the killing and maiming of innocent bystanders and children. The method may have been hi-tech, “audacious” and “unprecedented”, but the outcome is all too familiar, old-fashioned and on-brand for a state that is being investigated by the international court of justice (ICJ) for a “plausible” genocide in Gaza.

Stop sending them weapons.

Trump Turns ‘Anti-Semitism’ Rally On Its Head.  Argues that certain Jews (you can guess which ones) deserve approbation.

Former President Donald J. Trump, speaking on Thursday at a campaign event in Washington centered on denouncing antisemitism in America, said that “if I don’t win this election,” then “the Jewish people would have a lot to do with a loss.”

Mr. Trump repeated that assertion at a second event, this one focused on Israeli Americans, where he blamed Jews whom he described as “voting for the enemy,” for the hypothetical destruction of Israel that he insisted would happen if he lost in November.

Mr. Trump on Thursday offered an extended airing of grievances against Jewish Americans who have not voted for him. He repeated his denunciation of Jews who vote for Democrats before suggesting that the Democratic Party had a “hold, or curse,” on Jewish Americans and that he should be getting “100 percent” of Jewish votes because of his policies on Israel.

Does he want to lose?

What do you want to talk about?