DL Open Thread: Saturday, Jan. 3, 2025

While You Were Sleeping–Trump Invaded Venezuela and Arrested Maduro:

President Trump said on Saturday that the United States had captured the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, and was flying him out of Venezuela, in what would be a stunning culmination to a monthslong campaign by Mr. Trump’s administration to oust the authoritarian leader.

Mr. Trump made the announcement on Truth Social, his social media platform, and said that the United States had carried out “a large scale strike against Venezuela” in an operation that was conducted “in conjunction with U.S. law enforcement.” He said that Mr. Maduro’s wife had also been captured.

Venezuelan officials said in statements that while a death and injury toll was still being assessed, Venezuelans had been killed in the strikes. A U.S. official said there had been no American casualties in the operation but would not comment on Venezuelan casualties.

In a brief phone interview with The New York Times after the announcement, Mr. Trump celebrated the success of the mission to capture the Venezuelan president. “A lot of good planning and lot of great, great troops and great people,” he said. “It was a brilliant operation, actually.”

When asked if he had sought congressional authority for the operation or what is next for Venezuela, Mr. Trump said he would address those matters during a news conference at 11 a.m. at Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence in Palm Beach, Fla.

So. Do we own Venezuela now?  Or just the oil? Can someone please wake Chris Coons up?  If this isn’t an act of war, I don’t know what is.

Yes. It’s all about the oil:

Trump’s recent statements refer to Venezuela’s 2007 nationalization of oil assets, including those from US firms like Exxon, which he describes as “stolen” from American interests. He has called for their return via posts on Truth Social in December 2025, framing it as reclaiming expropriated property to counter the Maduro regime. Sources: Reuters, Al Jazeera, CNN.

A Devin Nunes sighting:

While recently pursuing a favorite pastime – searching through Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings for publicly traded companies – I saw that Devin Nunes, the CEO of Trump Media & Technology Group and others associated with Trump Media did a deal to purchase a publicly traded company Blue Water Acquisition Corp. III. I then saw that a few months prior to the deal the CEO of Blue Water, Joseph Hernandez, attempted an unsuccessful $10 billion bid to acquire the U.S. assets of Citgo Petroleum, which is majority owned by Venezuela. With Trump and his administration bombing boats in Venezuela and killing dozens of people in what some call war crimes fueled by oil interests, the latest Nunes and Trump Media related business caught my attention.

Since the Trump administration and Trump family businesses all have a somewhat loose definition of ‘conflicts of interest’ it will be interesting to see if Blue Water or any other Trump-linked businesses, show up in future opportunities to profit from the bombings in Venezuela. And even if not related to Venezuela, it will be interesting to see what business combination Blue Water Acquisition Corp. III pursues given its many links to Trump Media, which is majority owned by the U.S. president.

Like Swallows Returning To Capistrano:

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) said on X that he had spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who “informed me that Nicolás Maduro has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States.” Maduro was indicted in 2020.

Lee, who had initially questioned how this attack was possible under U.S. law without the consent of Congress, did a quick 180, seemingly immediately satisfied with Rubio’s insistence that the “large scale strike” described by Trump was necessary to defend law enforcement. Other Republican members of Congress are falling in line this morning too.

At Least One Democratic Senator Speaks Out:

New Jersey senator Andy Kim, a Democrat, posted on X that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth “looked every Senator in the eye a few weeks ago and said this wasn’t about regime change. I didn’t trust them then and we see now that they blatantly lied to Congress.”

Sen. Kim accused Trump of rejected a “constitutionally required approval process for armed conflict because the Administration knows the American people overwhelmingly reject risks pulling our nation into another war.”

Kim, a former State Department employee under the Obama administration, Kim said the overnight strikes in Venezuela “doesn’t represent strength. It’s not sound foreign policy. It puts Americans at risk in Venezuela and the region, and it sends a horrible and disturbing signal to other powerful leaders across the globe that targeting a head of state is an acceptable policy for the US government.”

He warned that the strikes “will further damage our reputation – already hurt by Trump’s policies around the world – and only isolate us in a time when we need our friends and allies more than ever”.

Some Questions To Be Answered:

Christopher Sabatini, senior fellow for Latin America at Chatham House, has shared some analysis of the latest events in Venezuela and says attacks by the US have prompted many questions:

This isn’t a surprise. Though the narrative around the US rationale for the escalation and attacks off the coast of Venezuela has changed over time (anti-narcotics, removal of Maduro, regime change) this step was almost inevitable after the six-month escalation failed to generate internal dissent that could prompt Maduro’s removal or regime change.

It looks for now that the US focused on key military infrastructure: Tiuna Fort, an unoccupied military barracks, several airfields and bases. Will this be enough to provoke a regime change alone? Or will it need to continue. Frankly while some US special operations forces could land in Venezuela to support targeted strikes a full military invasion is unlikely. Can these strikes go on indefinitely?

According to surveys, US citizens are opposed to the use of its military in Venezuela. And any strikes inside Venezuela now will likely force a vote in Congress under the War Powers Act.

But assuming even if there is regime change-of some sort, and it’s by no means clear even if it does happen that it will be democratic-the US’s military action will likely require sustained US engagement of some sort. Will the Trump White House have the stomach for that?

I guess Trump’s invasion of US cities really was a test run for more military action.  This time, with no pesky courts around to try to make Trump follow the law.

The NYTimes Editorial Gets It Right:

The nominal rationale for the administration’s military adventurism is to destroy “narco- terrorists.” Governments throughout history have labeled the leaders of rival nations as terrorists, seeking to justify military incursions as policing operations. The claim is particularly ludicrous in this case, given that Venezuela is not a meaningful producer of fentanyl or the other drugs that have dominated the recent epidemic of overdoses in the United States, and the cocaine that it does produce flows mostly to Europe. While Mr. Trump has been attacking Venezuelan boats, he also pardoned Juan Orlando Hernández, who ran a sprawling drug operation when he was president of Honduras from 2014 to 2022.

A more plausible explanation for the attacks on Venezuela may instead be found in Mr. Trump’s recently released National Security Strategy. It claimed the right to dominate Latin America: “After years of neglect, the United States will reassert and enforce the Monroe Doctrine to restore American pre-eminence in the Western Hemisphere.” In what the document called the “Trump Corollary,” the administration vowed to redeploy forces from around the world to the region, stop traffickers on the high seas, use lethal force against migrants and drug runners and potentially base more U.S. troops around the region.

Venezuela has apparently become the first country subject to this latter-day imperialism, and it represents a dangerous and illegal approach to America’s place in the world. By proceeding without any semblance of international legitimacy, valid legal authority or domestic endorsement, Mr. Trump risks providing justification for authoritarians in China, Russia and elsewhere who want to dominate their own neighbors. More immediately, he threatens to replicate the American hubris that led to the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

As a presidential candidate, Mr. Trump seemed to recognize the problems with military overreach. In 2016, he was the rare Republican politician to call out the folly of President George W. Bush’s Iraq war. In 2024, he said: “I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop wars.”

He is now abandoning this principle, and he is doing so illegally. The Constitution requires Congress to approve any act of war. Yes, presidents often push the boundaries of this law. But even Mr. Bush sought and received congressional endorsement for his Iraq invasion, and presidents since Mr. Bush have justified their use of drone attacks against terrorist groups and their supporters with a 2001 law that authorized action after the Sept. 11 attacks. Mr. Trump has not even a fig leaf of legal authority for his attacks on Venezuela.

What do you want to talk about?

Delaware Political Weekly: Week Ending Jan. 1, 2026

“We are kings of our bikes. So, we are again really lucky to live in Rehoboth, when we park a car, we have to get back into the car. We can hop on our bikes and our ritual is that we are always biking from our home to L(ewe)s. We do a little bit of walking around, a little bit of margarita, a little bit of good food – there’s amazing food then bike right back. So the ritual, on our bikes, every chance we can, any place we can go, and eliminate the cars.”–Dan Cruce.

Yeah, I know that I skipped last week.  If you’d like your subscription $$’s back, please send me some subscription $$’s first, and I’ll ‘consider’ returning it to you.  Just be advised that I will use the Krista Griffith version of ‘consider’.  As in, and I quote:

“There was an attempt by State Rep. Frank Burns (D-Newark) to change the effective date to the day the new changes were signed into law as to not effect any ongoing books and records request, but that amendment ultimately failed.

During debate on the House Floor, Rep. Burns noted the amendment was largely drafted out of concern for the ongoing books and records requests made by Meta — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — shareholders, as reported by CNBC, and worried that those probes could be hindered.

“I am aware of two actions against Meta where books and records discoveries were going on, and they can continue, but what they were looking into can now never be brought to bear under the SB 21 rules,” Rep Burns said during debate.

The bill’s sponsor, State Rep. Griffith (D-Fairfax) explained the date of Feb. 17 was “very carefully considered” and did not support the amendment along with the majority of her colleagues.

But I (only slightly) digress.

1. John Atkins in a three-way? No, I’m not referencing the aftermath of one of the ‘lingerie’ parties that John attended. You people disgust me.  There is now a third announced R candidate for the 41st RD seat being vacated by Rich Collins.  One Jacki Slonin of Dagsboro. She describes herself as an ‘Essential Services Solutions Expert and business owner’, said business being JS Strategies.  She’s also a huge ‘parental rights’ activist.  Hey, it’s the 41st.  The best you can hope for is a candidate who doesn’t come from a family where cousins marry.

2.  Stephanie Bolden Isn’t Retiring.  She’s filed for the ballot.  Lest you’ve forgotten who she is, this clip should remind you.

3.  Campaign Finance Reports Start To Trickle In.  The reporting deadline isn’t until January 20.  So, what we have so far are those reports where either no money was spent and/or inactive committees.  I checked so that you don’t have to.  One of Greg Lavelle’s committees spent his remaining balance–on behalf of Brent Burdge and Bryan Shupe. Although–he transferred the remaining funds, some $5100, to his other PAC, the FirstStateFirst PAC.  We’re not done with him yet.

4.  Curtis Linton On Ballot For NCC District 4.  Apparently with the imprimatur of James Maravelias.  The Wilmington area district seat is currently held by Penrose Hollins, who has announced his retirement.

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

Song of the Day 1/2: The American Breed, “Bend Me, Shape Me”

This song, a No. 5 hit for the American Breed in 1968, was prophetically titled – several bands covered it in the ’60s, and it sounded different each time.

Credited to Scott English, best known for co-writing Barry Manilow’s “Mandy,” and Larry Weiss, who co-wrote “Rhinestone Cowboy,” it was first recorded by the Outsiders for their 1967 album “In.” To back singer Sonny Geraci’s soulful reading, the arrangement features a vaguely menacing piano intro and a staccato horn chart. For some reason it wasn’t released as a single.

Next to tackle the tune was a trio of New York City fashion models who billed themselves – what else? – the Models. Famed producer Tom Wilson gave it a full psychedelic intro and a couple of odd breaks near the end.

It took the American Breed to turn the song into a hit by giving it a galloping drum intro and beefed-up horn parts. Though this was the group’s highest-charting song, they had a few other singles reach the top 40. As the ’70s dawned they adopted a funkier sound and changed their name – first to the Breed, then Ask Rufus, and finally just Rufus, best known as the band that launched Chaka Khan.

A British band, Amen Corner, also had a hit with the song in 1968. Like the American Breed, their version featured more prominent horns, but they changed the arrangement even more by switching the key from minor to major. It reached No. 3 in the UK and the top 10 in several other countries. Lead singer Andy Fairweather Low and keyboardist Blue Weaver went on to long careers after Amen Corner disbanded in 1969.

DL Open Thread: Friday, Jan. 2, 2026

I have a question to start: We’ve had two notable murders in Delaware over the past two weeks.  When the former owner of the Stone Balloon, who is also the former husband of Jill Biden, has been incarcerated for allegedly murdering his wife right here in Delaware, why hasn’t a single major Delaware news outlet reported the story?

One more question: It’s been about two weeks since the murder of Trooper Snook at the DMV.  All of the accounts of the incident make clear that the alleged killer targeted Snook and, in fact, allowed DMV customers to leave before the killing.  Was Snook targeted?  Sure seems like it.  Was he targeted because he was a police officer, or was it something specific? 

Trump’s Second-Term Corruption Presented In An Interactive Format.  The scope of the corruption is astonishing.  A must-watch.

The Jack Smith Testimony News Dump.  What, you think it was mere coincidence that Rethugs dumped the transcript of his testimony on New Year’s Eve?:

House Republicans decided to publicly release the transcript of special counsel Jack Smith’s Dec. 17 closed-door deposition on New Year’s Eve — while most of Washington was tuned out for the holiday.

Smith used the day-long grilling before the House Judiciary Committee to mount a robust defense of his investigation into Donald Trump for seeking to subvert the 2020 election. He forcefully rebutted claims that his work was tainted by politics and delivered a granular defense of his office’s tactics and prosecution strategy — all while repeatedly restating his view that Trump was guilty of a historic crime. He also revealed some new information about his witness list, and gave Judiciary Republicans a new opening to attack Cassidy Hutchinson’s infamous testimony.

I think this is the key takeaway:

Some of Smith’s most substantive testimony centered on his never-implemented trial strategy: using Republicans who believed in Trump to make the case against him.

“The president was preying on the party allegiance of people who supported him,” Smith said. “The evidence that I felt was most powerful was the evidence that came from people in his own party who … put country before party and were willing to tell the truth to him, even though it could mean trouble for them.”

Smith repeatedly drew on diehard Republicans to make the case against the man they wanted to become president but who they acknowledged had been defeated. Smith said former Vice President Mike Pence and several of the GOP elector nominees — like Pennsylvania’s Lawrence Tabas — would have fit that bill and made strong trial witnesses.

“That witness, Mr. Tabas, was of a similar group of witnesses who — these are not enemies of the president. These are people in his party who supported him,” Smith continued. “And I think the fact that they were telling him these things … would have had great weight and great credibility with a jury.”

Smith said he came to believe that Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, tweet attacking Pence while he was at the Capitol “without question” exacerbated the danger to Pence’s life.

Trump Supports Peaceful Protestors–In Iran:

President Donald Trump vowed Friday to intervene if Iran shoots or violently kills peaceful demonstrators, as economic protests spread and evolved into deadly unrest.

If Iran “kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” Trump said in an overnight post on Truth Social.

Trump Taking Four Times The Recommended Dosage Of Aspirin?:

CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner on Friday said President Donald Trump’s explanation of his aspirin use “makes no sense.”

Trump, 79, told The Wall Street Journal that he has a reason for taking a high dose of the drug against the advice of his doctors and despite the visible bruising it’s caused on his hands.

“I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart,” he told the newspaper. “Does that make sense?”

Reiner said it doesn’t ― noting that blood thinners such as aspirin don’t literally “thin” the blood, as Trump seems to think.

“It’s not like changing something from gumbo to chicken soup,” he said. “It doesn’t make it thinner. It makes you less likely to clot.”

Reiner, who was a longtime cardiologist for the late former Vice President Dick Cheney, said many patients were once given aspirin to prevent heart attacks, but that advice has changed over the years, especially for people over 70.

“Not only is there no benefit in terms of just primary prevention ― trying to prevent a cardiac event by giving them aspirin ― that there can be hazard,” he said. “And the hazard can be bleeding, significant bleeding.”

Trump, he noted, told the Journal that he’s taking 325 mg of aspirin daily.

“But the dosage that we use for patients even with documented coronary artery disease is a quarter that, is 81 mg per day,” Reiner said. “So why is the president taking an unorthodox dose of aspirin?”

I have a question–assuming that what Trump says is true (I know, first time for everything), is he taking the aspirin intravenously? I mean, we’ve seen the alleged injection sites on the back of his hands, right?

Gen Z To The Rescue?  In classrooms at least, the answer appears to be Yes:

Teach For America (TFA), a non-profit education organization, experienced a near 43% increase in applicants for teaching fellowships over the past three years.

A generation whose formative years were spent in isolation during the Covid-19 lockdown is “craving human connection and experiences that feel real”, suggested Whitney Petersmeyer, TFA’s chief growth and program officer. “Teaching is the job where they can find that.”

Gen Z is “responding to the opportunity for purpose and responsibility at a time where many entry jobs feel uncertain or disconnected from impact”, she added.

This generation came of age “in a rapidly changing world,” Randi Weingarten, president of American Teachers Federation, said in a statement, “and that lived experience helps them relate to students in powerful ways.”

New arrivals in the classroom are bringing a new perspective, according to Weingarten. “They’re reimagining how we teach, bringing new approaches to technology and social-emotional learning.”

The entire Homelessness in Delaware Series From Spotlight Delaware.  My only wish is that it hadn’t run during the holidays when fewer people pay attention.  So, share it with your friends.

What do you want to talk about?

Song of the Day 1/1: Ferko String Band, “When You’re Smiling”

When I think of Mummers string bands, I imagine the string bands of my childhood – masses of banjos in parade formation, supplemented by saxophones and glockenspiels, all played by guys wearing sequins and plywood backpieces adorned with ostrich feathers. They probably had their heyday in post-WWII era, when Ferko String Band cut some LPs. Throughout my childhood string bands sounded like this 1947 recording.

Though the Mummers Parade might seem timeless, it’s changed a lot over its history. The parade is 125 years old, but for the string bands 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of the modern era. That was the year Harrowgate (now Uptown) broke with the drill-formation marching tradition and introduced dancing to their routine. They took home first prize.

That opened the floodgates. Nowadays every band’s four-and-a-half minute performance is a miniature stage show with complex props and dance numbers. The sound has changed, too. The rules bar brass instruments – only strings, reeds and percussion are allowed – but saxophones, not banjos, now dominate their sound, and arrangements incorporate lots more jazz chords. The costumes seldom incorporate ostrich feathers anymore; they’re too expensive.

To hear how much the music and presentation have changed, this is how Ferko looked and sounded in last year’s parade.

Only 14 bands are marching this year, but most of them sound more professional than ever. Last year, two bands, South Philadelphia and Quaker City, shared first prize. It’s on TV, but I’ll be streaming it at WFMZ.com. The string band portion will start about 1:30 p.m.

DL Open Thread: Thursday, January 1, 2026

Trump Declares Defeat In LA, Chicago and Portland:

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he is pulling the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon, although the troops already had a limited presence becausethe states involved had sued to block their deployment.

Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that troops would return “when crime begins to soar again.” He did not mention a recent Supreme Court order halting his deployment of the National Guard to Chicago with significant implications for their use in other cities.

“We are removing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, despite the fact that CRIME has been greatly reduced by having these great Patriots in those cities, and ONLY by that fact,” he wrote —a claim not backed by data.

The president’s retreat on the eve of a holiday follows the administration’s setbacks in lawsuits aimed at removing the National Guard from cities in blue states.

“We will come back, perhaps in a much different and stronger form, when crime begins to soar again — Only a question of time!” Trump’s post declared.

I’m making one, and only one, prediction for 2026: Donald Trump will not be President come December 31, 2026.

Trump’s Vindictive Vetoes:

President Donald Trump is being criticized for more corruption after he issued the first vetoes of his second term on Monday.

Among them is a bipartisan bill that would have allocated funds to finish construction on Colorado’s Arkansas Valley Conduit. Upon completion, the project would have provided drinking water to 50,000 people across 39 communities.

Trump has previously called for the release of former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters, who’s in prison for breaking into secure election systems. A believer in Trump’s conspiracy that the 2020 election was stolen, Peters sought to rig the state’s results in his favor after he lost to former President Joe Biden.

Ahead of his veto, Trump said that the state would face “harsh measures” if Peters was not released. He issued a “symbolic” pardon of Peters earlier in December, but it was ineffective because she was convicted on state charges—not federal.

Trump issued another veto that highlighted his vindictive streak.

Legislation that would have incorporated Osceola Camp, which is part of the Miccosukee Tribe, in Florida’s Everglades National Park, was vetoed. It also had backing from both parties in the state—including GOP Sen. Rick Scott and Rep. Carlos Gimenez and Democratic Rep. Darren Soto.

In his statement justifying the action, Trump complained that the tribe “has actively sought to obstruct reasonable immigration policies that the American people decisively voted for when I was elected.”

The tribe has sued Trump over his “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention facility in Florida, arguing in a legal filing that the construction of the facility was “unlawful.” The facility came under fire for its role in advancing Trump’s racist anti-immigrant agenda and for its incredibly harsh conditions.

Zohran Mamdani Sworn In As New Mayor Of NYC:

Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as mayor of New York City soon after midnight in a private ceremony in an abandoned beaux-arts subway station – a prelude to daylong celebrations set to include a second, public swearing-in and a block party outside city hall.

Mamdani, 34, was sworn into office by the New York attorney general, Letitia James, surrounded by wife, Rama Duwaji, members of his immediate family, including Mira Nair, his mother and a film-maker, and his father, Mahmood Mamdani, a professor of African studies at Columbia University.

“This is truly the honor and the privilege of a lifetime,” Mamdani said.

“I cannot wait to see everyone tomorrow as we begin our term.

The midnight ceremony will be followed by a 1pm public event at which the new mayor will be introduced by political ally and Bronx Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and sworn in by Vermont senator Bernie Sanders.

Mamdani’s office has said the choice to be sworn in at the old city hall subway station reflected his “commitment to the working people who keep our city running every day”.

“When Old City Hall Station first opened in 1904 – one of New York’s 28 original subway stations – it was a physical monument to a city that dared to be both beautiful and build great things that would transform working people’s lives,” Mamdani said in a statement.

“That ambition need not be a memory confined only to our past.”

Former Stone Balloon Owner Involved In Wife’s Murder? I don’t think that I was ever in the Stone Balloon, but people have been e-mailing me about this:

Linda Stevenson, the wife of Jill Biden’s ex-husband, Bill Stevenson, was found dead in her Delaware home on Dec. 28.

Linda was 64, according to a statement from the New Castle County Police Department. Her body was discovered by authorities on Dec. 28 at approximately 11:16 p.m. local time, according to the press release. Police “responded to a reported domestic dispute at a residence in the 1300 block of Idlewood Road in the community of Oak Hill,” per the release.

A ‘Housing First’ Model To Address Homelessness in Delaware.  Opposed by, who else, the Trump Administration:

Last month, a who’s who of New Castle County power brokers milled about the lobby of what once was a Sheraton hotel. With melodies from a jazz trio playing softly in the background, they celebrated the fifth anniversary of turning the hotel into the Hope Center homeless shelter.

In the floors above, scores of people who previously had been homeless were likely winding down their days.  Among them were 17 veterans and chronically homeless people who live on the fifth floor and call the Hope Center their permanent home.

Those fifth-floor rooms are critical to combatting Delaware’s growing housing crisis, say advocates, because they are some of the few examples in the state of supportive housing, which provides a permanent place to stay along with services, such as doctor’s visits and addiction treatment.

But in recent months, that model has been challenged by federal government officials who are pulling back dollars for that type of housing, even as local advocates say it should be expanded. 

“Those resources are super, super limited and not meeting most of the people out there who need them,” said Rachel Stucker, executive director of the Housing Alliance of Delaware.

Supportive housing is an example of a “housing first” model, which provides permanent housing to homeless people without requiring sobriety or mental health treatment.

Stucker said this model works because it is difficult to address mental health or addiction issues without first having a stable place to live.

But the Trump administration, which supplies money for housing programs in all 50 states, argues that funding transitional housing programs with time limits and mandates for mental health and addiction treatment is a better approach. 

In response to such arguments, Delaware State Housing Authority Director Matthew Heckles said government officials already tried requiring homeless people to get sober and be treated for mental health before being sheltered, and it was not effective.

The results were that people simply chose – or were forced – to stay on the streets, he said.

“They’re basically going back in time and saying, ‘These things that we know don’t work, that’s how we think you should do things,’” Heckles said.

What do you want to talk about?

Delaware 2025: The Good, The Bad, The Ridiculous

THE GOOD:

Jan. 17: Gov. Meyer commits to scaling back windfalls to large corporations.  Says he will focus on small business development instead.

March 5:  Gov. Meyer proposes energy reforms, including more power to challenge rate increases.  Both the Governor and the General Assembly ultimately follow through on these proposals.

March 7: Delaware Supreme Court rules that Matt Meyer, not Bethany Hall Long, can nominate the members for the Diamond State Port Board.  The unholy alliance between BHL and Senate leaders stunk to high heaven.

March 17:  How Delaware Will Reform Opioid Grants Process.

March 18:  End-Of Life Decisions Bill Passes House, 21-17.  Entire Wilmington delegation votes no, as do Reps. Cooke and Heffernan.

April 3:  Leg Hall Expansion Delayed.  You know, because the state actually has needs for the $50 mill designated for the project.

April 17:  Kevin Hensley hands over his car keys.  The bad news? It’s only for a year.  April 17, 2026 will be here before you know it.

April 17: End-Of-Life Options bill passes Senate and goes to Governor, who has promised to sign it.

April 22: Meyer nominates a new marijuana czar.  A good one who, later in the year, actually gets the industry up and running.  The new czar is not an ex-cop.  Coincidence?

April 23: Speaker Mimi Minor-Brown does one (and only one) thing right this year–she boots Kevin Hensley from the Joint Finance Committee.

April 25: Protestors picket ICE’s favorite airline, Avelo (which linguists will no doubt parse as deriving from ‘Evil’) at the Wilmington Airport.

April 30: ACLU Of Delaware wins key case for UD students.  You say you wanna contribute?

May 14:  Excellent bill endorsed by AARP passes despite continued attempts of Ciro Poppiti, who had a blatant conflict-of-interest on the bill, to kill it.

May 20:  Gov. Meyer signs End Of Life Options Act into law.  So glad to see Paul Baumbach front and center at the signing ceremony.

June 10: Sen. Stephanie Hansen artfully and successfully shepherds legislation enabling a wind power project through the Senate.

June 16:  Our Man In Pakistan Announces he will resign from the Christina School Board next month.  About the time that legislation making him ineligible to serve becomes law.

June 21:  Evelyn Brady skunks Cassandra Marshall and is elected the new Delaware Democratic Chair. I was there, and voted the right way.

June 24:  Stell Parker Selby resigns from the House of Representatives after having denied her 20th RD constituents representation during the entire 2025 legislative session.

July 3:  Alonna Berry chosen to be the D candidate to replace Stell Parker Selby.  She seems like the best option they had.

July 23:  NCC Councilman Dave Carter introduces legislation to regulate data centers:

New Castle County, DE – Councilman David Carter (District 6), working with the New Castle County Department of Land Use, announced      today that legislation will be introduced on August 26, 2025 to establish clear and enforceable standards for the siting and operation of data centers in New Castle County.

The proposed ordinance will reflect the growing need to responsibly manage the infrastructure demands and environmental impacts associated with large-scale technology facilities.“We are taking action to make sure we have the right tools in place to evaluate and regulate these massive projects,” said Councilman Carter.

July 29:  A really thoughtful assessment of the reassessment controversy.

August 1: Delaware’s recreational marijuana market launches its first retail locations.

August 5: D Alonna Berry wins Special Election by 121 votes.  In the ‘good’ column.  For now.

August 7: Delaware Fights Back Against Julianne Murray’s MAGA-ism.

August 12: General Assembly passes some temporary fixes for reassessment tax bills.  Animosity reigns in the House.

August 14:  Gov. Meyer signs the Inspector General bill into law.  Y’know, I really should’ve included Sen. Laura Sturgeon on my 2025 MVP list.

August 17:  Kathleen Jennings stands up against Nemours Children’s Hospital on behalf of transgendered youth.

August 20:  Our PAL Val Longhurst dumped as the head of the Delaware Police Athletic League.  Something about a shitload of missing money despite government largesse.  Included under the ‘Good’ category because anything that reflects negatively on Longhurst is automatically good.

Sept. 2:  Free school breakfasts, but not lunches, begin in Delaware.  Kim Williams really should be primaried.

Sept. 4:  Great choice for Delaware Teacher Of The Year.

Sept. 14:  Matt Meyer issues order enabling virtually all Delaware residents to get COVID vaccines.

October 13:  Delaware abuse victim rescued from ICE deportation.

October 15: Christina School Board boots Navid Baqir, Our Man in Pakistan, from the Board by a 4-2 vote.

October 18: A spectacular day of No Kings events in Delaware.

Nov. 6: Gov. Meyer creates a new Office Of New Americans to assist immigrants. Something that would never have even entered what remains of John Carney’s mind.

Nov. 12:  Could Delaware get its own medical school?

Nov. 13:  House Passes bill decoupling Fed tax breaks for corporations from their Delaware tax obligations.  The bill was passed in the Senate the following week.  The bill will help whittle down a projected $400 mill budget deficit caused by Trump’s Big Beautiful bill.

Nov. 17: Federal judge denies gun rights lobby request to halt enforcement of the state’s new law requiring permits to purchase handguns.

Nov. 26: Wilmington Council members Shané Darby and Coby Owens call for Gov. Matt Meyer to keep the Plummer House open.

Dec. 1: ‘Non-partisan’ Julianne Murray left the Delaware Rethuglican Party in debt.  Sad.

Dec. 5: Delaware ACLU challenges Fenwick for allowing corporations to vote. 

Dec. 8: Jason’s Greatest Hits–The Case Against Chris Coons.

Dec. 10: Wilmington to finally get rent escrow program?

Dec. 17: Redding Consortium Recommends One NCC Mega-District north of the Canal.  (This item belongs on whatever list you THINK it belongs on.)

Dec. 18: Meyer Administration partners with not-for-profit to provide medical debt relief to 18,000 Delawareans.

Dec. 19: Gov. Meyer intervenes on behalf of ICE detainee.

Dec. 31: Delaware to receive $157 mill To expand rural health care.

THE BAD:

Jan. 3:  News-Journal reports that Rep. Kevin Hensley had been charged with a DUI, and that the police kept the story from the public.

Jan. 7:  Elections Scofflaw Bethany Hall-Long becomes Delaware’s temporary governor.  Immediately schemes with some State Senators to nominate members to the Wilmington Port Board.

Feb. 6: We learn that Dan Cruce is thrilled that he lives in Rehoboth.  Nobody does anything.

Feb. 7:  Delaware school leader indicted on child porn charges.  Doesn’t look like the school did even a cursory background check on the guy.

Feb. 7:  State Auditor says she’ll investigate the expedited transfer of $200 mill to the Diamond State Port Corporation. ‘Expedited’ as in five days before Matt Meyer took office. 

Feb. 15:  Two non-entities elected to the State Senate. Dan Cruce.  Ray Seigfried.  Both candidates chosen by party insiders, not in a primary.

Feb. 17:  SB 21, The ‘Musk Pass’ Bill, is introduced.  The headline on this Delaware Call piece had it right:  ‘Deldems Roll Over For Musk’.

Feb. 24:  Delaware Offers $30 Mill Bribe To Merck.  ‘No-comments’ all around.

March 6:  Bryan Townsend’s blatant conflict-of-interest on SB 21.

March 13:  Musk-Pass bill unanimously passes the Senate.

March 16:  Nick Merlino, speaking for Gov. Meyer:  “Gov. Meyer doesn’t believe that trans girls should be playing in girls’ sports, but ultimately he defers those decisions to the leagues and localities,” Merlino said.

March 19:  Commenter ‘Another Mike’ points out that Rep. Stell Parker Selby has been absent every day of this legislative session.  I had been unaware, but he’s right.

March 25:  House Speaker Mimi Minor-Brown disgraces herself in shutting down legitimate dissent to SB 21.  Specific victims include Reps. Frank Burns and Sophie Phillips, who had the temerity to submit improvements to the bill via amendment.  Don’t think I’ve ever seen a Speaker behave like that.  The bill passes, 32-7, and is immediately signed into law.

March 26:  My day-after screed.

April 8:  How Krista Griffith ran interference for Meta And Zuckerberg:

“There was an attempt by State Rep. Frank Burns (D-Newark) to change the effective date to the day the new changes were signed into law as to not effect any ongoing books and records request, but that amendment ultimately failed.

During debate on the House Floor, Rep. Burns noted the amendment was largely drafted out of concern for the ongoing books and records requests made by Meta — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — shareholders, as reported by CNBC, and worried that those probes could be hindered.

“I am aware of two actions against Meta where books and records discoveries were going on, and they can continue, but what they were looking into can now never be brought to bear under the SB 21 rules,” Rep Burns said during debate.

The bill’s sponsor, State Rep. Griffith (D-Fairfax) explained the date of Feb. 17 was “very carefully considered” and did not support the amendment along with the majority of her colleagues.

May 6:  The Town of Camden (DE) PD cuts deal with ICE. A reflection on the town.  Being outed by Spotlight Delaware, Camden reneges on the deal.

May 14: Diamond State Hospital Cost Review ain’t doing shit, ain’t gonna do shit.  Especially after Gov. Meyer appointed two Christiana Care ‘foxes’ to investigate the henhouse.

May 15:  AG Jennings, Governors Carney and Meyer, and Buccini-Pollin vs. Joint Finance Committee.   Pretty sure the good guys won on this one.

May 16: Mean Girls Speaker Mimi Minor-Brown and Kim Williams vs. Rep. Rae Moore.  Turns out the real issue is that Williams doesn’t want to fully-fund school meals.  As opposed to the fake issue they used as a pretext here. 

May 16:  Meadow Wood Hospital repeatedly put patients at risk.  What’s not bad is Nick Stonesifer’s award-worthy reporting on this.

June 2: The Delaware City Refinery has been illegally spewing pollution for over a week.

June 9-12:  House D Leadership has kept status of always-absent Stell Parker Selby from public.  Spotlight Delaware version.  Coast TV (Part 1).  Coast TV (Part 2).  Great work from an independent press smokes out a disingenuous Speaker of the House.

June 24:  Feud between Speaker Mimi Minor-Brown and Rep. Rae Moore becomes public, with a side order of Kim Williams.

July 9:  AG Pam Biondi names Julianne Murray as the ‘interim’ US Attorney for Delaware.

July 10:  Wilmington vs. Weed.

July 10: Appoquinimink: An $8 mill accounting error?

July 17: Massive Data Center proposed for Delaware City.

July 27:  Prison whistleblowers punished for calling out inhumane conditions?

August 4: Yet another release of toxins from the Delaware City Oil Refinery.

August 6: Middletown officials killed police accountability.

August 6: ‘Non-partisan’ interim US Attorney Julianne Murray demands that Delaware hand over local businesses’ payroll records to ICE.

August 21:  Yep, the Congo Legacy Center was basically out of compliance on everything.

August 25:  Owner shuts down Galluccio’s, shits on employees.

August 28:  Gov. Meyer breaks word on county marijuana restrictions.  Legislators won’t forget this.

Sept. 3:  Wilmington cops doing cop things.

Sept. 10:  Smyrna School District offers teachers a 0.0% raise.

Sept. 16:  John Carney and his odious co-conspirator Claire DeMatteis release a despicable preliminary report on homelessness. Including the first plans for the Carney Concentration Camp.

Sept. 22:  Delaware legislators lie about why they went to Israel.

Sept. 23: The real reason why Carney wants to create his Homeless Concentration Camp.  To keep them away from a brand-new Buccini/Pollin luxury development.

October 1:  NCC Executive Marcus Henry throws his predecessor, Matt Meyer, under the bus on reassessment.

October 3: Christiana Care banks profits while skimping on required care for the poor.

October 8: Matt Meyer and Christiana Care bury the hatchet (in consumers’ backs).

October 15:  Did Our PAL Val leave the Police Athletic League $700K in debt?  Where’d the money go, Val?

October 19: CR School Board sought to purchase a $10 mill property–from a school board member.

October 21:  Mayor Carney vetoes bill that would have protected renters.

October 24:  Suxco D Chair Jeff Balk’s sex-offender conviction raises questions about whether he should resign.  (He ultimately did.)

October 27:  Former Mayor Mike Purzycki and political operator Bud Freel in a hinky arrangement to rehab the Gibraltar estate that just happens to be right next door to Purzycki’s house.  Using lots of taxpayers’ $$’s. 

October 27:  Yet another bribe to keep a company in Delaware. From a FOIA-exempt body expending taxpayer $$’s.

October 30:  The Carney Concentration Camp.

Nov. 1: Carney blames Wilmington homelessness on Philly.  It’s a lie, of course, designed to justify his signature Concentration Camp.

Nov. 10:  An absolute stinker of a land deal involving a DELDOT bigwig and–DELDOT.  Delaware Way-ism at its worst.

Nov. 12:  Gibraltar–An Inside Job.

Nov. 18: Yet another delay on NCC Council consideration of data center legislation as Janet Kilpatrick tosses a last-minute killer amendment into the mix.

Nov.18: Delaware River & Bay Authority is using $500 K of public money to fund ICE’s favorite carrier, Avelo Airlines.

Nov. 23:  Brandon Toole sells out. Drops sponsorship of data center bill, goes to fundraiser sponsored by chief lobbyist for the project.  Makes it official here.

Dec. 5: State Auditor: Port Of Wilmington Board did lots of stuff wrong.

Dec. 17: Yet more emissions that the Delaware City oil refinery kept hidden from the public.

Dec. 23: Delaware State Trooper Shot Dead At DMV in Minquadale.

THE RIDICULOUS:

Jan. 9:  Delaware Rethugs fete guest speaker Nancy ‘Mace (teh trans)’ at a fundraiser.  Future acting District Attorney Julianne Murray says it’s merely something about protecting the sanctity of women’s bathrooms.

Feb.18: The Delaware Rethugs’ Battle For State Chair.  Spoiler Alert–’Incremental Progress’ carries the day over a 78-year-old’s spittle.

Feb. 20.  Karen Hartley-Nagle files for Brandywine School Board election.  She will go on to lose, but not before Marcus Henry gives her an equally-ridiculous endorsement.

March 25:  Oopsies, Wilmington didn’t get opioid funding because Mayor Mike never showed for the meetings:

“Spotlight Delaware reached out to multiple committee members, asking why they didn’t attend meetings. Most didn’t respond.

Former Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki — the most prominent absence from the committee meetings — said he didn’t have “any recollection” about being asked to participate in the Local Governments Committee.

If he was invited, he said, it must’ve “got lost in translation.”

April 6:  Doesn’t anybody want to build the Underwater City at Fort DuPont?

“The developer of a 135-acre site next to Fort DuPont in Delaware City is seeking a new partner for its RV park and campground project on the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal near the Delaware River.

An Ocean City, Maryland-based company called Blue Water Development had for several years been set to develop the property with a Michigan company called Sun Outdoors. But now Sun Outdoors is no longer pursuing the project and the site is for sale.” (Note to self: Did anybody answer the call?)

April 28:  LBR and Chris Coons respond to protestors on Israel/Gaza:

Congresswoman Lisa Blunt-Rochester was echoing sentiments expressed by Coons and Meyer when she was interrupted by a heckler questioning policy regarding Israel and Hamas.

“That’s one of the–that’s one of the bigger issues–(heckler interrupts) “You told us you would listen! You haven’t listened to us!”

Coons told those who shouted questions from the audience that their behavior “wouldn’t move him in a positive way” toward their position.

April 28:  Karen Hartley-Nagle argues that we should vote for her b/c she had her car stolen from the exact same location twice:

“This morning, as I was getting ready to go door-knocking, excited to meet more neighbors across Brandywine, there was a knock at my own door.

Two of my neighbors had urgent news: around 4:00 a.m., two young men had broken into my car, right outside my home. Security footage caught them — hoods up, gloves on — moving quickly through the neighborhood while most of us slept.

Soon after, a New Castle County police officer arrived to take the report.

Standing there, I couldn’t help but think back to another morning — last Labor Day Eve — when my car was stolen from that very same spot. Found days later, damaged and abandoned just a mile away.

The young man charged was only 18. Last week, he appeared in court and was given probation.

Two incidents.

Two reminders that even in neighborhoods we cherish, challenges are growing — and we must come together to meet them.”

May 1:  General Assembly creates a Port Task Force with no legal authority.

June 30: Senate Rethugs’ attempt to hold the Bond Bill hostage dies before it ever was born.  Sad. I mean, at least Mike Ramone got some Skittles out of his hostage-taking efforts.

July 3: Stephanie Bolden, outing herself as a petulant would-be police officer.

August 26:  A joke of a NCC Council meeting.

Sept. 16: Five Delaware legislators take part in blatant pro-Israeli propaganda–in Israel.

Sept. 30: The barely-read Blue Delaware blog implodes after its sole proprietor is revealed to have plagiarized articles from The Downballot blog for all of 2025.  Said proprietor used to be Hillary’s resident ass-kisser here on DL.

October 3:  Former drug mule Lauren Witzke calls out a Black woman apparently taking advantage of the limitless soda privilege at Costco.

October 7:  James Spadola joins the Democratic Party.  Nobody but Cassandra Marshall cares.

Dec. 11: Julianne Murray resigns as acting Attorney for Delaware.  Blames Coons and LBR.

 

Song of the Day 12/31: Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot, “Bonnie and Clyde”

Yesterday for Song of the Day I related the story of Serge Gainsbourg’s disastrous first date with Brigitte Bardot, who was married at the time, and how she told him that to make it up to her he should write “the most beautiful love song he could imagine.” He wrote the steamy duet “Je T’Aime…Moi Non Plus.”

Just to be sure, Gainsbourg also wrote a second tune that night. “Bonnie and Clyde” piggybacked on the successful Warren Beatty film of 1967, with Gainsbourg basing his lyrics on a poem by Bonnie Parker, “The Trail’s End.” Unlike “Je T’Aime,” the song was released soon after, and became a hit in Belgium, of all places. The couple filmed a performance for a Bardot TV special broadcast Dec. 31, 1967.

DL Open Thread: Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025

ICE To Spend $100 Mill To Recruit More Goons:

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are planning to spend $100 million over a one-year period to recruit gun-rights supporters and military enthusiasts through online influencers and a geo-targeted advertising campaign, part of what the agency called a “wartime recruitment” strategy it said was critical to hiring thousands of new deportation officers nationwide, according to an internal document reviewed by The Washington Post.

Yes, they’re at war with us.

The spending would help President Donald Trump’s mass-deportation agenda dominate media networks and recruitment channels, including through ads targeting people who have attended UFC fights, listened to patriotic podcasts or shown an interest in guns and tactical gear, according to a 30-page document distributed among officials in this summer detailing ICE’s “surge hiring marketing strategy.”

‘Online influencers’.  Wonder how much of that $100 mill ends up in Trump’s pocket.

Is it fascism yet?

Democracy At The Kennedy Center:

The Kennedy Center adopted bylaws earlier this year that limited voting to presidentially appointed trustees, a move that preceded a unanimous decision this month by board members installed by President Donald Trump to add his name to the center.

The current bylaws, obtained by The Washington Post, were revised in May to specify that board members designated by Congress — known as ex officio members — could not vote or count toward a quorum. Legal experts say the move may conflict with the institution’s charter.

Time to relocate the Kennedy Center to Branson, MO?

Israel Goes After Aid Organizations.  Right after Bibi’s meeting with Trump.  Coincidence?  What do you think, Rep. Melanie Ross Levin?:

Israel has announced it will stop dozens of aid organisations working in Gaza within 36 hours for failing to meet stringent new requirements to hand over personal details of Palestinian and international staff deployed in the devastated territory.

The list of groups hit by the ban include some of the world’s best known humanitarian organisations such as ActionAid, International Rescue Committee and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

Tuesday’s announcement by the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs comes amid fierce storms that in recent days have destroyed thousands of tents in Gaza, exacerbating an already acute humanitarian crisis.

Yo, Melanie, please come on here and explain how your propaganda photo op was merely a ‘fact-finding expedition’ to, you know, help you become a better legislator.

Delaware To Receive $160 Mill From Feds For Rural Health Care Expansion:

The federal government awarded Delaware $157 million this week as part of a national program aimed at bolstering rural health care across all 50 states. The initial award represents the first batch of funding Delaware hopes to receive over the next five years.

The full award amount for the state remains unclear at this time, but the state will receive at least $500 million from the federal program.

Delaware officials said they plan to use those funds to invest heavily into health infrastructure in Kent and Sussex counties, including building the state’s first medical school and two new homeless service shelters in the lower counties.

State leaders also hope to fund 13 additional programs, including additional preventative care, financial assistance for medical students that commit to working in Delaware for five years after graduation, and robust nutritional education.

Delaware got the money because they asked, and because they had a good proposal.

Y’know, Matt Meyer gets a lot of heat here and elsewhere, some of it justified.  However, tomorrow, when you peruse through ‘The Good” section of the annual “The Good, The Bad, The Ridiculous” magnum opus, ask yourselves–would any of these items have even been on John Carney’s radar were he still in office?  How would Carney have dealt with ICE?  How would he have dealt with the budget shortfall? We can at least be thankful that we have a Governor who is engaged and who has some genuine empathy.  You know, a converted hotel as opposed to a Concentration Camp, to cite but one example.

What do you want to talk about?

DL Open Thread: Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Trump’s War On Venezuela Expands.  Shouldn’t, what’s the term I’m looking for, Congress, have a say in this?:

The C.I.A. conducted a drone strike on a port facility in Venezuela last week, according to people briefed on the operation, a development that suggests an aggressive new phase of the Trump administration’s pressure campaign against the Maduro government has begun.

The strike was on a dock where U.S. officials believe Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, was storing narcotics and potentially preparing to move the drugs onto boats, the people said.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Mr. Trump declined to say how the attack had been carried out or by whom but confirmed the United States was responsible.

“There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs,” he told reporters at Mar-a-Lago, his club and residence in Florida. “They load the boats up with drugs. So we hit all the boats, and now we hit the area. It’s the implementation area, that’s where they implement, and that is no longer around.”

The Venezuelan government did not directly comment Monday on the strike or Mr. Trump’s remarks, but Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela’s interior minister, denounced months of “imperial madness” and “harassment, threats, attacks, persecution, robberies, piracy and murders.”

The White House and the C.I.A. both declined to comment.

A Column I Won’t Read, Nor Link To: “The State Department Font Change Is About Respect, Not Aesthetics”.  Bonus points if you can guess where this appeared.

Jeffrey Epstein And Mark Zuckerberg–Fellow Child Traffickers:

In October 2019, a BBC investigation found a 16-year-old girl from Guinea being advertised for sale on Instagram. Her price was approximately $3,800. The listing included her photograph. She was one of dozens of domestic workers the BBC found being sold on Facebook and Instagram in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, but her age made her listing particularly valuable to buyers. She was a child, and Meta’s platform was the marketplace.

Three years later, three women who had been sex trafficked as teenagers sued Facebook in Texas. They had been recruited on the platform, groomed by traffickers who exploited Facebook’s friend suggestion algorithm, and sold. The Texas Supreme Court ruled unanimously that they could proceed. Federal law, the court wrote, does not create “a lawless no-man’s land on the internet” where companies can “knowingly or intentionally participate in the evil of online human trafficking” without consequence.

These are not anomalies. Facebook accounts for 59 to 65 percent of online trafficking recruitment in federal cases. For children specifically, 65 percent. Meta platforms generated 85 percent of all child sexual abuse material reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 2022. Meta is the trafficking infrastructure and one man controls it.

Shoulder shrug. In Delaware, legislators carve out special exemptions for such predators.  Right, Krista?

Just A Couple Of Oligarchs Slingin’ The Shit With Each Other.  The Trump-Netanyahu meeting:

Donald Trump hosted Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for lunch at Mar-a-Lago on Monday. In remarks to reporters before, during and after their meeting, the two leaders said that they were in broad agreement on most issues, from next steps in Gaza and the possibility of bombing Iran again, to how very deserving Trump is of getting another award.

Read. Puke.  Perhaps State Rep. Melanie Ross Levin would care to chime in?

ProPublica:  25 Investigations You Might Have Missed This Year.  You’ll note that many of these investigations are joint enterprises between ProPublica and independent news organizations throughout the country.  Might be some opportunities for our newly-invigorated reportorial community and ProPublica to partner…

PETA Offers Up Insane Proposal:

An animal rights organization is urging Delaware lawmakers to consider a proposal that would require dog guardians to walk their dogs three times a day — including one walk lasting at least an hour. Supporters say the move would help meet dogs’ physical and mental needs, but some dog owners question if it’s realistic.

SOME dog owners??  It’s not realistic. Period.  One required hour-walk per day?  What about all the dog owners who can’t walk for sixty consecutive minutes, with or without a dog?  Who would ever enforce such a law?

I’m all for suggested guidelines on how much exercise your dog should get.  But PETA embarrasses itself when it makes a proposal such as this.

‘No Way To Live’.  What passes for life in the Carney Concentration Camp:

The number of people living at Christina Park has grown in recent weeks despite cold temperatures, according to several residents. One, who asked to be referred to by his first name, Al, said there were around 12 tents at the park when he arrived in early November. By Dec. 9, there were about 50 tents.

The growth followed a slew of recommendations made by a Wilmington task force that determined the park should be a city-sanctioned homeless encampment.

Despite (well, actually, because of) the recommendation and the population growth, living conditions within the encampment are harsh.

Because there are no public restrooms, people must use buckets to relieve themselves or make the 20-minute walk to the Wilmington train station or to the Sunday Breakfast Mission – the only homeless shelter in downtown Wilmington.

“You have to train your body to be able to do that,” Simmons said. “Or you go in a bucket somewhere up here, or you take your chances behind a tree or something.”

Earlier in the fall, city leaders pledged to install porta-potties at the park – a measure that also was part of the Wilmington homelessness task force recommendations. But Philly said they have yet to be installed.

Spotlight Delaware also has not seen any during recent visits to the park.

Caroline Klinger, a spokeswoman for Wilmington Mayor John Carney, said last week that the administration identified a company that rents trailer-style bathrooms and is “in talks to get those to Christina Park as soon as possible.” 

Blahblahblah.  You can’t fucking rent port-a-potties like anytime you want??  Too expensive, John?  It’s a tall task to become an even worse mayor than Dennis P. Williams, but Carney appears to be up to the task.

Yo, John!  You and your bloodless Chamber-centric ghouls created this concentration camp.  Are you so devoid of humanity that you feel no obligation to treat the residents there as fellow human beings?

What do you want to talk about?

Song of the Day 12/30: Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot, “Je T’Aime … Moi Non Plus”

Brigitte Bardot, who died Sunday at 91, owed her sex kitten image to the movies she made in the ’50s and ’60s, but her ambition, and the monetization of her erotic appeal, also extended to music.

She wasn’t much of a singer, but after “Sidonie,” a song she recorded for the soundtrack of a 1962 film, made the charts as a single, she got a recording contract. Her first LP appeared the next year, packaged in a gatefold format that, naturally, included several pages of photographs. It also included the song she considered her favorite, “La Madrague,” inspired by the eponymous property she bought in St. Tropez and lived in until her death.

She reached the pinnacle of her recording career when she hooked up with Serge Gainsbourg in 1967. Though she was still married to German playboy Gunter Sachs, Gainsbourg asked her out. It went badly, so she told him he could make it up to her by writing “the most beautiful love song he could imagine.” Given that it was Serge Gainsbourg, one of the century’s great horndogs, he came up with “Je t’aime… moi non plus” (“I love you … me neither”)*.

They recorded it in a small sound booth, and though the session engineer said nothing more than “heavy petting” went on, many listeners believed otherwise. But very few got to hear Bardot’s version. It was aired once on French radio, and when Sachs heard about it he threatened to sue. Bardot pleaded with Gainsbourg not to release it, and he relented.

Two years later, his affair with Bardot over, Gainsbourg rerecorded it with his new girlfriend, Jane Birkin. It quickly became an international sensation. The BBC banned it, which helped boost it to No. 1 on the UK singles chart (that the single was sold in a sleeve that read “Not to be sold to anyone under 21” didn’t hurt). The Vatican condemned it, naturally – virgin births are the only sort they approve of – leading Gainsbourg to call the Pope his best press agent. It didn’t sell nearly so well in the U.S. because many radio stations refused to play it; others would only air it late at night.

Bardot came to regret missing out on a big hit – the single sold 6 million copies worldwide – so with Gainsbourg’s approval she released her version in 1986.

Gainsbourg asked Birkin to sing her part an octave higher than Bardot had. Compared to BB’s huskier delivery, Birkin sounds like a child. That’s ironic, in a way. Her first husband, svengali-like film director Roger Vadim, started his relationship with Bardot when she was just 15 – about the age of many Jeffrey Epstein victims.

*The inspiration for the title came from a comment by Salvador Dali. Asked the difference between himself and Pablo Picasso, Dali replied, “Picasso is Spanish, so am I. Picasso is a genius, so am I. Picasso is a communist, neither am I.”

‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes Of 2025: The Top 10!!

But first, let us put all of the great tunes in one place for those who have not been breathlessly following along to the Countdown:

#’s 50-41

#’s 40-31

#’s 30-21

#’s 20-11

OK, here we go:

10:

9:

8:

7:

6:

5:

4:

It was only as I was ordering my Top 10 that I realized that these three songs create a trilogy reflecting community, diversity and inclusiveness, values that are most sorely needed in these dark times. While each addresses these needs in distinctly-different ways, together they demonstrate what music can bring us when brought to us by artists full of humanity:

3:

2.  “This track was written by the indie singer-songwriter Kevin Morby, who recorded it in 2016 as a tenderhearted protest song. Staples’s rendition honors the original spirit, but her incomparable voice fills it with a luminous gravitas. Morby said that hearing Staples sing one of his songs has been “hands down the greatest moment and highest honor of my career.” He added, “As the person who penned ‘Beautiful Strangers,’ I feel I have every right to say; her version is better.”

1:  A powerful and necessary message of inclusiveness. This grew on me from the first time I heard it until now.  Both the song and video are works of art from truly beautiful people:

“It’s our differences that make us beautiful.”

Song of the Day 12/29: Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra, New Year’s Eve medley

Stephen Miller, the illegitimate child of Nosferatu and Joseph Goebbels, caused a stir the other day when he tweeted, “Watched the Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra Family Christmas with my kids. Imagine watching that and thinking America needed infinity migrants from the third world.”

He was mocked widely for holding up two sons of Italian immigrants as some epitome of American values. Many commentators noted that Sinatra was a particularly strong voice among entertainers in the civil rights era for both minorities and immigrants.

You can watch the whole thing yourself on YouTube. If you were alive at the time it seems hopelessly hokey today, a combination of the Rat Pack buddies duetting through some tunes interspersed with segments featuring their daughters. It resembles most TV of the era, though Martin’s and Sinatra’s refusal to take any of it seriously makes it easier to take than, say, one of Andy Williams’ annual holiday specials.

But Miller wasn’t alive at the time, so like a lot of other people, I’m puzzled by what he saw in the pair’s easy camaraderie that reminds him he hates immigrants.

Martin and Sinatra worked together often, frequently in Vegas, and Sinatra occasionally guested on Martin’s variety show, which ran from 1965 to 1974 on CBS. In 1970 Martin hosted a New Year’s Eve prime-time special that gives a good idea of how they goofed their way through their duets. They’re particularly sharp on “I Get a Kick Out of You.”