Song of the Day 6/12: Electric Light Orchestra, “Evil Woman”

Leave a reply

Whenever I’ve considered using “Evil Woman” as a topical song, I faced the problem of deciding which of the MAGA villainesses deserved the distinction. But one by one, the Clickbait Queens are disappearing from their perches. Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi and Tulsi Gabbard were fired. Marjorie Taylor Greene quit Congress. So did the latest mean girl to topple, Nancy Mace, who left Washington to run for governor of South Carolina. She came in fifth in the GOP primary for her trouble and vowed to get her revenge on Trump. Sure, Jan.

Who’s left? Lauren Boebert remains, but seems to have lost her mojo. Linda McMahon isn’t even the biggest villain in her own marriage. That aptly named Florida congresswoman, Anna Paulina Luna, shows a lot of promise, but is she ready for so much spotlight? I don’t expect the role will go unfilled for long, but none of them so far has shown the combination of idiocy, malice and cunning to warrant a claim on the title of Most Hated Woman in MAGA World, or the Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS Trophy that goes with it.

So I’ll take my cue from Jeff Lynne, who wouldn’t name the woman who inspired this No. 10 Billboard hit. He said he wrote it in a matter of minutes when he decided the 1975 LP “Face the Music” lacked a good single.

The song’s most notable cover was by Duran Duran, who rearranged it for the dance floor and substituted synths for real strings. It makes you appreciate Lynne’s clean production all the more.

DL Open Thread: Friday, June 12, 2026

2 Replies

Carney Surfaces:

The city of Wilmington said Thursday that homeless residents of Christina Park must be gone by sunset Monday. Then, officials said they will erect a perimeter fence to block anyone from entering the site.

Wilmington officials issued eviction notices last month to park inhabitants about a month after requiring them to use city tents. The first tents were flimsy and failed during their first night in use after an overnight downpour, prompting the city to purchase sturdier replacements for residents.

When asked at a news conference whether park residents have been informed about the sunset deadline for leaving, Daniel Walker, Mayor John Carney’s deputy chief of staff, said they told the park’s site manager, the Friendship House, a local nonprofit.

Walker said out of 85 park residents, it has placed, or is trying to place, about 52 people in some kind of temporary housing or treatment program. City and Friendship House staff say park residents have been connected to beds at the New Castle Hope Center, a New Castle motel, as well as other shelters and treatment programs. A few people have also found permanent housing or plan to stay with family or friends.

Walker said that leaves 31 residents, with 12 of those interested in supportive services. But that still leaves 19 people who he said don’t want to leave the park.

Carney said they are trying to convince them to leave by the deadline.

“What we have to offer is better than a tent in Christina Park, and so getting people to make that choice, to take that step, is a big deal,” he said.

Those who fail to leave the park could face arrest. But Carney and other city officials would not spell out how they will get people who don’t want to leave to depart without the use of force.

Groundhog Day, Every Day:

A tense calm gripped the Persian Gulf on Friday after President Trump said he had called off more U.S. strikes on Iran and claimed that a peace deal was “in pretty final shape.” Iran offered no public confirmation of such progress, with its foreign ministry spokesman saying that “nothing has been finalized,” according to the state broadcaster.

The conflicting statements capped a dizzying day in the war that began with another exchange of U.S.-Iranian strikes, followed by Mr. Trump warning that he would hit Iran again “VERY HARD,” only to walk that back hours later. The president has alternated between bellicose threats and unfulfilled promises of a deal as he grasps for an end to a war that is in its fourth month and increasingly unpopular among his supporters.

After a week of tit-for-tat U.S.-Iran attacks, it was unclear whether Mr. Trump’s latest comments were a pressure tactic or reflected real diplomatic progress. He said on Thursday afternoon that a deal could be signed “maybe over the weekend, in Europe,” and that, if so, Vice President JD Vance would take part. The president said it included an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the vital shipping lane that Tehran has all but closed in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli strikes that began the war on Feb. 28.

The nuclear threat that allegedly precipitated this war?

Mr. Trump said that the nuclear issues that have been a major sticking point in the talks were still being discussed “conceptually.”

How Trump Lost Control In Wisconsin:

If you watched Sunday’s Meet the Press, you saw a president walk off a set. But if you know how the White House communications machine works, you saw something far more revealing: a strategy that unraveled in real time, in the rain, on a farm in Wisconsin.

Let’s start at the beginning.

Kristen Welker mentioned it herself at the top of the interview— the White House had invited her to conduct the interview. That detail is easy to gloss over, but it matters enormously.

When the White House “invites” a journalist, they intend to be in the driver’s seat. They choose the location, the timing, the backdrop, and the framing. This is not meant to be an adversarial ambush — it is a choreographed opportunity. The administration selects every variable it can control, because the interview is not journalism from their perspective. It is a communication tool.

The trip to Wisconsin had a specific purpose: speak directly to farmers, project strength on trade and agriculture, and reassure a voter base that has been watching the numbers with growing unease. Presidential visits like this — roundtable with farmers, remarks in a barn, American flag in the background — follow a familiar playbook. And the interview is typically the final piece of that puzzle. It is how you take the message from the room in Chippewa Falls and push it into 10 million living rooms on a Sunday morning.

The decision to invite a Meet the Press anchor makes sense on paper. Welker has one of the largest audiences in Sunday morning news. She is respected, credentialed, and carries institutional weight. On the surface, this looks like smart access journalism — the White House opens the door, gets wide coverage, controls the narrative.

But here is where the strategy showed its first crack.

Meet the Press is not a daily show. It is a week in review. It is, by design and by tradition, a program that follows the headlines wherever they lead — Iran, January 6th, election fraud claims, the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, gas prices, tariffs. The White House wanted to talk about farmers. Welker came prepared to talk about everything. And in a wide-ranging interview with a well-prepared journalist, you do not control the agenda just because you sent the invitation.

What unfolded on that barn set, interrupted by the sound of heavy rain hammering the metal roof, was a president increasingly cornered by questions he was not prepared to defend with clarity or composure.

When Welker asked him about the weaponization fund and his persistent, evidence-free claims about election fraud, the temperature in that barn changed. Trump called her crooked. He called the network crooked. He told her she was “either crooked or stupid.” He cited no evidence for claims he has made for years, and when she pushed back, he pushed back harder — not with facts, but with volume.

And then he stood up and walked out.

Sad.

FIGJAM Kicked Out Of Club. Al (not A I) once told me that Phil Mickelson was reviled by his fellow golfers, and was given the nickname FIGJAM (‘Fuck, I’m the Greatest, Just Ask Me’).  As you know, this mega-millionaire was the first big name to cry poormouth and join the Saudi Blood Money-funded LIV.  Now there’s this:

Phil Mickelson has been kicked out of a San Diego golf club over allegations he made unwanted physical contact with a female employee, Golf Digest reported Thursday.

Golf Digest cited multiple sources as saying Mickelson is no longer welcome at The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, California, where the six-time major champion has played and practiced for decades. The unwanted contact was said to have happened earlier this spring.

Mickelson, the chief recruiter in the launch of LIV Golf, has played only once this year because of a serious family health matter that has not been disclosed. He did not play the Masters and PGA Championship and is no longer exempt for the U.S. Open.

Golf Digest cited sources in reporting Mickelson approached the woman in the clubhouse and made nonconsensual and inappropriate physical contact with her. The woman rejected his advances and reported it to her supervisors.

Officials at The Farms reviewed and investigated, Golf Digest reported, and then confronted Mickelson on the course. Mickelson, 55, was told to leave the premises.

The Farms said in a statement to Golf Digest: “Following a staff member report of member misconduct, the club provided immediate and ongoing support to the staff member, conducted a thorough independent investigation of the incident and took decisive action. This individual is no longer a member of The Farms Golf Club.

Mickelson is so despicable that he just might have a future in Rethuglican politics.

What do you want to talk about?

Delaware Political Weekly: Week Ending Thursday, June 11, 2026

5 Replies

I’d like to dedicate this to the Good People Of Sharpley:

1.  Rep. Krista Griffith Offers Ice Cream To The Residents Of Sharpley.  Yes, it’s almost certainly some sort of violation of some campaign law somewhere.  I remember that ex-Claymont Rep. Dave Brady used to hand out roses to the ladies after they departed the polling place.  When he ran against Wayne Smith, one of Smith’s Rethug henchmen called the Office Of Elections to complain, and Dave was told to stop.  However, this just strikes me as pathetic.  Someone who hasn’t had to run hard for several election cycles and hasn’t in fact run hard, safely ensconced in the Dover Delaware Way cocoon, simply not knowing how to actually run against a grassroots campaign.  Perhaps Sharpley residents will fall in love with Krista because she ‘brought them ice cream’.  I don’t think so.

2.  Third Time The Charm For R’s In RD 20?  The first two to file both dropped out.  This #3  guy has a long record of public service:

Georgetown Town Manager and Milton Fire Chief Gene Dvornick has filed to run for Delaware’s 20th Representative District.

According to the Delaware Department of Elections, Dvornick filed Monday as a Republican candidate for the Sussex County seat. Dvornick has served as Georgetown town manager since 2007.

Here’s a nice profile of him.  On paper, a good candidate.  However,  incumbent Alonna Berry already has tough races behind her, is skilled at running grassroots campaigns, and, IMO, is doing a real good job in Dover.  I’ve seen candidates like Dvornick come along in the past.  In fact, in the past, candidates like Dvornick often won.  That, however, was in Old Suxco, not New Suxco.  The questions include–will he run like he has to win?  What kind of support can he expect from the Republican Party and R’s in general? Berry will have to run hard.  But, she’s done it twice, and has a primary against a faux D to get through to the general.  At this point, I look for her to extend her winning streak.  Twice.

3.  His-And-Hers Third-Party Advertising Committees.  We’ve already highlighted the third-party advertiser being coordinated by the law firm of Parkowski, Guerke, and Swayze.  You know, the ones churning out shitty media for Delaware Way denizens with pretty much every corporate miscreant chipping in.  Well, check out Delaware LEAD.  The sole name on the paperwork?  Linda Parkowski.  Yes, the wife of Jim Parkowski, yes, that’s his law firm.  The stated purpose of this PAC? ‘Third party advertising committee to influence legislation’.  Best way to influence legislation?  Elect legislators who you’ve paid for.  All in the family.

4.  Jose Lopez To Challenge Sen. Matzavinos.  Rumored to be a candidacy backed by Jen Cohan and the non-union Associated Builders & Contractors.  Former DELDOT Secretary is the President of Delaware ABC.  Until further notice, I view this as a nuisance primary.

5.  Mara Gorman Gets Her R Opponent In SD 8.  One Shane Cavanaugh.  A certified arborist and owner of a tree and landscaping company.

6. Norm(an)!  That’s the name of the committee for one Dr. Anne Norman, who has filed as a D in RD 34.  She has just retired from the State, where she served as the State Librarian Of Delaware and the Director Of the Delaware Division of Libraries since 2002.  RD 34 is currently represented by  R Lyndon Yearick.   Why did she name her committee ‘Norman’?  Don’t know, but it caught my attention.  Perhaps that’s why.

7. Filings:  State Rep. Jesse Vanderwende (R-RD 35); State Rep.  Danny Short (R-RD 39); and Rep. Tim Dukes (R-RD 40).

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

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thursday, June 11, 2026

Leave a reply

A (mostly) ‘just the facts, ma’am’ edition.

Here’s yesterday’s Session Activity Report.  Oooh, here’s a tidbit I missed yesterday.  The Senate had previously unanimously passed SB 22 (Townsend), ‘the Fair Standards in Mental Health Care Act, (which) builds on previous work to advance mental health parity and aims to ensure patients with private insurance can access timely, evidence-based mental health and substance use disorder care in Delaware.’  It’s an extensive bill, and pretty much a big deal.  The bill went to the House, which passed it, and sent it back to the Senate, where it once again passed unanimously.  For reason that perhaps only they can explain, two House Rethugs, Reps. Hilovsky and Shupe, voted against mental health care.  You’d have to ask them why.

One more thing–Sen. Darius Brown sure seems to be missing a lot of session days.  Just throwing that out there.

Today’s Senate Agenda is (I think) likely the final clearinghouse day for Senate bills to be passed and sent over to the House for consideration.  I, uh, spy at least one bill worthy of ridicule:

SJR 19(Seigfried) ‘directs the Department of Health & Social Services to explore and consider additional solutions for tackling the State’s high cost of health care and to submit a report to the General Assembly by January 1, 2027, that explores the feasibility of additional strategies to lower health care costs.’  Ray, can I call you Ray?  You spent your professional career as a bean-counter who helped ChristianaCare squeeze every last penny out of the healthcare dollar to the detriment of patients.  You voted to deep-six the Hospital Care Cost Containment Board.  You voted to enable ChristianaCare to essentially have veto power over any identified overcharges.  And now you want another agency to figure out why healthcare costs are so high?  Howzabout looking in a mirror?

Ah, I feel better now, doctor.  Just don’t show me the bill.

There are some bills I like, most of which I’ve previously discussed.  They include SS2/SB 23(Huxtable),  SB 13 (Pinkney), SB 313(Mantzavinos), and SB 320(Pinkney).  The above noted exception aside, this is a real solid agenda.

Here’s perhaps the most contentious bill on the agenda.  Perhaps one of the most contentious bills of the session.  SB 322 (Sokola) ‘repeals the ability of school districts to increase tax rates by up to 10% when recalculating the district’s rate of taxation after a general reassessment…This Act also allows school districts to increase a tax approved in a referendum election under Chapter 19 of Title 14 by up to 2% annually without a referendum if the district’s operational reserve balance is not more than 10% of the district’s annual revenue and it is not the same fiscal year that the rate of taxation is recalculated after a general reassessment.’  I think I’d support the bill, but will a few Nervous Nellie D’s help defeat it?

Looks like the House is doing the exact same thing today.  All House bills, and lots of ’em.  Not as many substantive bills.  I like HB 344 (Morrison),  HB 403 (Snyder-Hall), and HB 419 (Griffith).

I like ending things right there.

Song of the Day 6/11: Frank Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim, “How Insensitive”

Leave a reply

Guest post by Nathan Arizona

Ironically, Frank Sinatra was at his most sensitive when he joined Antonio Carlos Jobim on Jobim’s song “How Insensitive.” He needed to be. Jobim was a founder of bossa nova and the one most associated with it. The lilting, melodic, jazzy music called for a light, breezy style. Frank was well known for his brash ring-a-ding style and emotionally turbulent private life

He made it work, of course. He was Frank Sinatra. Besides, he could always tone it down for his barroom ballads.

“I haven’t sung this soft since I had the laryngitis,” he said of the 1967 Jobim session. And he knew the right pace for bossa nova. “Don’t let it run away, fellas, with the tempo,” he told the musicians. “Just keep it down. Let it settle down.”

Bossa nova took Brazil by storm in the early ‘60s and proceeded to do the same in U.S. jazz and pop music. American jazz players began to incorporate the style into their own. Many Brazilian musicians came here to capitalize on their surprising fame, including Jobim, whose centennial year is now being celebrated. They often paired with American performers. Frank Sinatra knew which way the wind blew.

“How Insensitive” (“Insensatez”), which Jobim wrote in 1963, appeared on the album “Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim.” It earned a Grammy nomination for best album and reached No. 19 on the Billboard album chart. The Portuguese lyrics are by poet (and diplomat!) Vinícius de Moraes. He wrote lyrics for many early bossa nova songs and is considered one of its founders. The lush orchestration is by Claus Ogerman, a key figure on many bossa nova recordings in the U.S.

Jobim also wrote the music for “The Girl From Ipanema” with lyrics by Moraes – “tall and tan and young and lovely, the girl from Ipanema goes walking…” It was the best-known bossa nova song and became a jazz and pop standard. It’s not easy to imagine Frank Sinatra lazing in the sand on a sunny Rio beach. But he was at home in the studio saying he was.

DL Open Thread: Thursday, June 11, 2026

4 Replies

Should Delaware Provide Funds For A Company Like This?  I’m legitimately asking:

Delaware recently awarded nearly $800,000 to a student loan company through a grant that one economic development official noted was “a little bit unusual,” because of the company’s startup status.

Founded last year by a former Sallie Mae executive, Delaware-based Gradbridge currently employs 12 people, according to company officials. They expect to have 49 employees in the coming years at a new headquarters at Newark’s Iron Hill Corporate Center.

(FWIW, I expect to hire 50 employees to run my burgeoning media empire.  If I get that state funding, I’ll set up shop in the sylvan burg of Arden.). But, I digress:

The company markets student loans with high-interest rates to college students who had been denied by traditional lenders. Its fixed-rate loans range from about 18% to 23% interest, depending on qualifying factors. By comparison, student lending giant Sallie Mae offers undergrad fixed-rate loans ranging from under 3% to just over 17%.

Small wonder it appeals to business folks in the state that legalized usury:

Gradbridge markets its loans to college juniors, seniors, and graduate students — a model that CEO Jen O’Donald said allows her company to “pick up really where the other lenders leave off.”

In an interview with Spotlight Delaware, O’Donald said the inspiration for her to launch the company partly came from threats made last year by the federal government to shutter the U.S. Department of Education.

If carried out, it would be a “massive disruption to the student loan industry, to schools, and to students themselves,” she said.

She said her company lends to upperclassmen and graduate students because they might only need one or two loans to “cross the finish line” to graduation. She also said Gradbridge requires a cosigner for its loans.

After originating loans, Gradbridge then sells them as assets to other companies. 

Fair enough.  It’s only ‘selective usury’.

‘Healthiest President Ever’ Saw 22 Medical Specialists In Latest Exam:

President Donald Trump saw 22 medical specialists as part of his annual medical exam last month, nearly doubling the number from his past check-ups and setting an apparent presidential record, according to a new analysis.

Medical experts told The Washington Post, which scrutinized the president’s exam results, that the number was unusual, the latest factor that could provoke health concerns around the 79-year-old commander in chief, the oldest person to ever assume the U.S. presidency.

“It is an extraordinary number,” Jonathan Reiner, a longtime cardiologist for former vice president Dick Cheney, told the paper.

Observers closely scrutinized the exam, given that it came after an unusual mid-year medical screening Trump got in October after his annual physical earlier that year.

One doctor told The Wall Street Journal that the exam could’ve been more forthcoming about the results of Trump’s cardiovascular testing.

The key takeaway for me?:

Others noted that, according to Trump’s medical records, he appears to no longer be taking a common hair loss prevention drug.

That, right there, is an oligarch who has just given up.

Can You Believe This?? Trump Grifting Off The UFC Spectacle?  Who could have possibly seen that coming?:

As President Donald Trump prepares to host a UFC fight at the White House this week, his family is promoting a venture aimed at profiting off the spectacle by selling gold coins priced as high as $12,000.

The “Freedom 250”-themed silver and gold medallions feature Trump’s face and are being marketed as a collaboration between the UFC and the Trump Organization, which is run by the president’s sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr.

The coins, which are being sold in advance of Sunday’s fight, have been dubbed “Trump Coins” on a website that also boasts they were “designed by President Trump.” There are four coins for sale, ranging from a silver one that costs nearly $250 to a $11,999.99 gold medallion whose holder comes with a portrait of Trump and UFC chief Dana White.

“I Love The Inflation”.  Even comatose national Democrats will likely be running that quote in endless loops.

I’m calling it now–Graham Platner will coast to an easy victory over Susan Collins.  E-clip ‘n save.

Barristers Will Love This One–An Insight Into Prosecutorial Misconduct In The Case Of The Broadview 6–Protestors against ICE tactics in Chicago.  Complete with a release of the grand jury transcripts.

More Trump Bluster On Iran:

The United States will be hitting Iran (Whose Navy, Air Force, Radar, Anti Aircraft, and all other forms of Defense, together with most of its offensive capability, are GONE!), VERY HARD TONIGHT. At some point in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island, and other oil infrastructure points, and assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets, much like we have with Venezuela, which is working out brilliantly for both Venezuela and the United States of America. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

In further comments to Fox News, Donald Trump said the US “dropped $250m worth of bombs on them [Iran] last night”.

He said the US was “not hitting them hard enough” but also claimed Iran was “in submission, they just don’t know it yet”.

He added: “My preference has always been take Kharg Island … I don’t know that America has the stomach for it.”

The expected response:

Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), a government agency set up on 5 May to oversee transit through the strait of Hormuz, announced the key waterway is “closed until further notice”, blaming US strikes in the region.

In a statement carried on Iranian media, the PGSA said: “Due to the tensions created by the US aggression forces in the region and the announcement by the Iranian armed forces last night, the strait of Hormuz will be closed until further notice.

Groundhog Day.

What do you want to talk about?

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Weds., June 10, 2026

1 Reply

Legislators can get a bill through the General Assembly in a matter of hours–from introduction to headed to the Governor’s Office–if they really want to.  In other words, these two great (IMO) bills can and should make it through before the end of session.  We discussed HB 444 (Lambert) yesterday.  The bill seeks to protect voting rights for Delawareans from federal interference.  Both the House Speaker and the Senate President Pro-Tem are on the bill as co-sponsors.  In other words, prospects for passage are bright.

The same should and, I think, will hold true of this one.  I can hear the bleats from municipalities throughout Suxco now.  Unfortunately, this is a constitutional amendment, so it needs to pass in two consecutive General Assemblies.  It will almost certainly pass this year since, it being the first leg. No harm, no foul.  I think it will pass next year.  In fact, I know it will, assuming the D’s get an unbreakable super-majority in the House, which can happen in November.  Plus, why would Rethugs vote against it?

Here is today’s Senate Agenda (it’s another committee meeting day in the House.  Perhaps the last one?).  You will note that it consists almost entirely of Senate bills, plus a bleepload of nominations.  Most of you likely know this, but nominations are acted upon only in The Senate.

Of particular note is SB 9 (Hansen), which seeks to protect Delaware’s non-tidal wetlands now that Trump and his minions have abandoned the Federal government’s role in doing so. Meaning, the Feds have made the State responsible for picking up the roughly $1.5 mill annual tab for this program.

Deep breath–committee meeting time.

House Committee highlights:

HB 465 (Romer) ‘adds virtual currency to the money laundering definition in the criminal code and gives the State legal authority to attempt to return virtual currency for victims.’ Judiciary.

HB 444 (Lambert), the ‘Delaware John L. Lewis Voting Rights Act’, in shorthand, seeks to ensure and enforce ‘a stated public policy of equal opportunity to participate in the political process.’ You can tell that a lot of work went into this effort to stem ongoing Federal shrinking of voting rights, particularly for minority communities.  Elections & Government Affairs.

There are two bills reducing the rate of the realty transfer tax.  I sorta understand this one, because it’s targeted at lower-priced homes.  But, this one? Why? Why no ceiling? It’s certainly not an economic hardship to those whose homes are worth more than a pretty penny.  Revenue & Finance.

HS1/HB 425 (Minor-Brown) ‘increases the salary supplement for school counselors and school nurses from 6% to 12% upon national certification.’  Good. It’s not easy to earn national certification.  Education.

HB 445 (Heffernan) ‘requires large energy use facilities to produce renewable energy within the state to power their operations to prevent a drain on the electric grid.’  Sounds good.  Although– The bill ‘provides for a “ramp-up” period requiring that a large energy use facility provide a plan to the Public Service Commission to ramp up their energy production within the state each year so that by the 10th year of operations, the facility is producing 100% of its energy usage through in-state production.’  10 years seems like a long time. Natural Resources & Energy.

 Senate Committee highlights:

SB 320 (Pinkney) ‘…modernizes Delaware’s pharmacy practice laws by authorizing pharmacists to practice to the full extent of their education and training. Pharmacists have the expertise necessary to provide patient care beyond what current Delaware law allows, and enabling them to do so is an important step toward expanding access to health care in this State. Under this Act, pharmacists are permitted to independently evaluate patients, identify health conditions, order and prescribe laboratory tests, and prescribe drugs or devices without reliance on statewide protocols, formularies, or specified lists of conditions.’ I’m married to a pharmacist, so you know how I feel about this one as long as the proper protocols are in place.  Health & Social Services.

SB 343 (Huxtable) ‘creates a first-time home buyers’ savings plan, called the Homeownership Using Savings and Earnings Plan (the HOUSE Plan), to ignite future homeownership in Delaware by helping residents save for their first home.’  Interesting.  Housing & Land Use.

This bill reminds me.  I’m rarely gonna cut-and-paste a lengthy synopsis on this thread.  However, if you click on the link for this bill, you’ll see much more detail on how this plan could operate.  Links are your friends.

SB 312 (Poore) ‘prohibits state agencies, counties, and municipalities from entering into nondisclosure agreements that would restrict the public from accessing information about potential or actual large-scale data center development in this State.’  Great bill.  Now, introduce one that prohibits quasi-state agencies from throwing millions of dollars at corporations with next to no public input and no FOIA requirements.  What?  You guys voted for that?  Because John Carney said it was a good bill?  Rescind it.  Elections & Government Affairs.

I hereby yield back the remainder of my time.

Song of the Day 6/10: Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Californication”

Leave a reply

In what I assume is a dry run for November, Republicans throughout the land are squawking that the mayoral primary in Los Angeles – along with all other elections in California – was rigged. Their proof? Reality TV non-entity Spencer Pratt, a Trump-adjacent Republican, didn’t get enough votes to make the run-off election. This in a city where 49.7% of registered voters are Democrats, 16.7% Republicans.

The professionals circulating this bunkum know it’s bullshit, a product of the state’s slow process for counting mail-in ballots, but evidence-free claims of cheating are central to the MAGA project of stealing any election they lose.

Anthony Kiedas listed a lot of things he considered Californication on the title track of the Chili Peppers’ 1999 comeback album. I would suggest he add “trying to fuck the state’s elections” to his list.

As a single, “Californication” reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock charts. Rolling Stone considers it the band’s best song. The video, a faithful imitation of then-current video games featuring animated avatars of the band members, also was wildly popular. Inevitably, somebody made a real video game to match, so you, too, can traverse the state as Flea.

In its initial form the song was much slower and had a reggae/rocksteady feel. It was leaked to the internet in 2014 along with the rest of the so-called Teatro sessions, a 90-minute tape recorded at Daniel Lanois’ Oxnard, Calif., studio in 1998.

DL Open Thread: Wednesday, June 10, 2026

6 Replies

Ted ‘Horsey D’ Kittila Goes National.  Well, international.  Always knew he had it in him:

One of President Trump’s lawyers is being sued for millions of dollars over his role in an international spying scandal.

Ted Kittila, who used to work for Trump’s social media venture Truth Social, was sued in federal court for $120 million for alleged fraud, civil conspiracy, and extortion on behalf of agents of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq, The Daily Beast reports.

According to court documents, the regional government was seeking to acquire surveillance software in the U.S. A Kurdish spy said that he was seeking to buy $11 million of surveillance equipment from a spyware contractor, Ben Jamil. But the spy alleged Jamil couldn’t prove the system worked, so he asked for his $360,000 deposit back, which Jamil refused. Then the spy hired Kittila to sue Jamil.

Jamil in turn sued the spy for $460 million in a separate action, and is seeking $120 million from everyone involved, including Kittila. He claims that Kittila and the others are using a criminal contempt motion, rare in a civil case, designed to stop him from discussing the case outside of court. He thinks that Kittila sought the order to spare the KRG and himself from embarrassment over the scandal.

“If he’s a prominent and important lawyer, connected to important people, why would he want to have the world know?” Kittila told The Daily Beast.  (Why, indeed?)

Kittila has ties to Trump beyond Truth Social. He worked with Republican operatives to investigate the Biden family, and was employed by the Republican National Committee to sue the Delaware State Election Commissioner for access to voter rolls. For nearly three years, Kittila also worked for the KRG, which has been accused of human rights abuses, including violence against political opponents and journalists.

Kittila’s work on the spyware case came at the same time he helped Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee investigate President Biden and his son Hunter for the latter’s business deals, which allegedly involved foreign influence peddling. Now it seems that his own foreign business dealings are in the spotlight.

You may or may not remember Kittila as a three-time Rethug loser in elections.  First, (and I’d forgotten this) as a challenger to Matt Denn in the 2014 race for AG.  He re-emerged in 2022 to lose twice in the same calendar year.  He faced off with Bud Freel to fill the remainder of the term of the vacant Gerald Brady (did I get that right? Yes, I think I did) in RD 4.  He then doubled-up by losing to Laura Sturgeon for the SD 4 Senate race that fall.  Whereupon he returned to his one-horse person law firm.  The ‘Horsey D’ reference?  So glad you asked:

If, that is, a lawsuit filed by the alleged victim and (bum-)steered by, of course, yet another failed Republican candidate who just happens to practice law, is affirmed.  Here’s the story from WDEL (an El Som tip of the sombrero to an intrepid tipster):

A lawsuit filed in Delaware Chancery Court seeks to force a local hospital to use a controversial treatment for COVID-19.

David DeMarco, 54, of Brandywine Hundred was hospitalized with COVID-19 on September 7, 2021, according to a complaint filed on September 17, 2021. Since being hospitalized, he’s not responded to various treatments including anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and steroid drugs administered at Wilmington Hospital, the complaint claims.

An attorney for the DeMarcos, Ted Kittila, told WDEL Monday that DeMarco was moved to home hospice care Sunday, but has since been transferred back to the ICU, where he’s been intubated with mechanical ventilation. He did not answer whether DeMarco was vaccinated against COVID-19.

Without the horse dewormer, the lawsuit alleges, this guy is headed for the Last Roundup.  They found some doctor in Milton to write a scrip for the dewormer which, of course, has not been shown to have any medical value whatsoever in the treatment of COVID, but which has become yet the latest ‘miracle cure’ touted by the RWNJ’s.  A cynic might suggest, “If you’re gonna take horse dewormer, why didn’t you just get the shot?”  But I’m no cynic.

John Carney On Homelessness: ‘Blahblahblah’.  Read it.  Am I wrong?

Where’s The Bleeping Money For The Port Gonna Come From?:

Speculation is swirling around how Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer’s administration plans to prop up the Port of Wilmington’s Edgemoor project, as officials continue to dodge questions about where additional state funding will come from.

The administration revealed last month that the Phase 1 costs of the Edgemoor container terminal construction had ballooned from $415 million to $669 million. The state agreed to pitch in an additional $110 million to help cover a $189 million shortfall.

The source of that $110 million is publicly unknown, and the lack of transparency is drawing criticism from current and former state lawmakers and open government advocates.

“I don’t know why this is such a state secret, but the public has a right to know,” said John Flaherty, spokesperson for the Delaware Coalition for Open Government. “There’s no justification for not sharing it.”

Some Delaware lawmakers said they’ve been told the administration will use unclaimed property revenue from the general fund. Others say the state could use surplus money socked away in savings and could find even more revenue when the budget forecasting council meets later this month.

While meeting recently with reporters, Meyer refused to identify the origin of the state’s additional contribution to the Edgemoor project, saying only that it is a “one-time money source that we’ll discuss at the appropriate time.”

Meyer’s office did not respond to a request for comment seeking clarity on when that appropriate time will be.

You will note that neither Darius Brown nor Deb Heffernan, who represent the area of the proposed Port expansion, commented on this.  I don’t need to tell you why.

Nuc-ular Power On Hold.  BTW, didja even know that teeny tiny nuclear reactors has been envisioned as part of Delaware’s energy future?:

In April, New Jersey lifted a 50-year moratorium on new nuclear power projects.

In Virginia, an energy company is already 3D printing parts for the state’s nuclear plants.

And details about restarting Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island nuclear power plant could be announced as soon as this month. (Can hardly wait for that one…)

But in Delaware, decisions about the state’s stance on nuclear power — specifically the emerging technology of small modular reactors — will likely be delayed until well after this year’s General Assembly adjourns on June 30.

That’s because the Delaware Nuclear Energy Feasibility Task Force, which has been convening regularly since last fall to study the issue, pushed back its deadline to produce a report until nearly a month after the legislative session ends.

The group, created by the legislature, was supposed to present its findings by the beginning of 2026, but task force members decided to delay the deadline almost immediately after they first convened.

Y’see, turns out that teeny tiny nuclear reactors have some–issues:

The U.S. military reported in April that it is developing small modular reactors and related technologies that could come online as early as next year. But there are no such reactors actively providing power to anyone anywhere in the world, according to Allison Macfarlane, the former chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

During a meeting last month of the task force, Macfarlane told members that only large reactors operate throughout the world because the immense costs inherent in nuclear technology can only be overcome through economies of scale.  

“It’s basic economics and I don’t think we’re going to be escaping that any time soon,” Macfarlane said.

Three guesses as to who is bitching about the delay.  You got it:

“Right now, Delaware is years behind the other states,” said Martin Willis, a member of the Boilermakers Local 13 union, and task force appointee. “If we wait until 2027, we’ll be light years behind. We have to do something.”

Wow.  The rare all-Delaware edition of the Open Thread.

What do you want to talk about?

Krista’s Korporate Kabal Violates Delaware Election Law

32 Replies

They sent out one of those mailers–you know, a ‘Call Krista and Tell Her She’s the Bestest Legislator EVER’ piece.  (Yes, I’ve seen the piece, can’t print it b/c it would reveal the recipient.)

However, oopsies, they (we can guess who ‘they’ are, and we will) did not mention who paid for the piece.  Despite the efforts of whichever Koch Bro still strides the earth, that’s still a campaign violation in Delaware.  Dark money is not yet the law in The Corporate State.

The almost-certain sponsors of this mailer?  These guys–the so-called ‘Alliance To Protect Delaware’s Future’.  Look at that Murderers’ Row Of Special Interests.

Jeez, you’d think that the law firm coordinating the whole thing would know how to ensure that whatever these corporate titans bankroll would conform to the law.  Although, perhaps they’re so used to ignoring the law that they just figured they could ignore it again.

What’s that, you say?  There’s another possibility?  It could be from the Speaker’s Slush Fund sponsored by Phil Shawe?  Why, yes, yes it could be. An inspirational quote from the Speaker:

Minor-Brown also asserted that anyone donating to the PAC will be supporting the Democratic Party broadly, and not her individually.

“They’re supporting the mission of the party,” she said. “It doesn’t mean they’re supporting my mission solely, and it doesn’t mean that I’m for sale, or bought and sold.”  

Stating the obvious, it doesn’t mean that she’s not ‘for sale, or bought and sold’ either.  And, it resonates with the level of incompetence we’ve come to expect from this Speaker.

Anyway, I’m merely the reporter.  Someone committed an election law violation.  Will the AG or the Elections Commissioner bother to investigate, or will this just be shrugged off as more Delaware Way business as usual?

Rhetorical question, I know.

Song of the Day 6/9: The Pretenders, “I Go to Sleep”

Leave a reply

After inconveniencing tens of thousands of New Yorkers so he could watch game 3 of the NBA finals, Donald Trump did what we all wish he’d do more: He fell asleep, an impressive feat considering the decibel level in Madison Square Garden at the time. The right-wing reality-denial machine went into overdrive, but that video reveals he’s semi-conscious at best, showing no reaction to anything happening on the court.

Kinks frontman Ray Davies wrote and demoed this ballad in 1965. Though the band never recorded it, his song publisher shopped it around. Peggy Lee and Cher both released it that year, but Lee’s single didn’t chart. Neither did a version by a British beat band, the Applejacks.

“I Go to Sleep” finally reached the charts inn 1981, when the Pretenders took it to No. 7 in the UK. Chrissie Hynde was in a relationship with Davies at the time, and she sings it with the commitment it needs to be effective.

Davies’ demo was finally released in 1998.

It’s been covered quite a bit – Sia recorded a good version in 2008 – but I’d be crazy to pass up what might be the only chance I’ll ever get to feature a song by the pride of Birmingham, the Applejacks. The band had a couple of British hits, but their popularity was waning by the time they tackled this tune.

Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tuesday, June 9, 2026

4 Replies

Time for the big finish, folks.  Lots to do. Starting today.  We’ve got some good, we’ve got some bad.  In fact, on the very same Senate Agenda.

The good?  SB 271 (Sokola), which finally seeks to reign in the toxic power of pharmacy benefits managers.  Among other things, the bill:

‘strengthens procedural protections for pharmacies, pharmacists, and consumers related to regulation of a pharmacy benefits manager by doing all of the following: Adds definitions for the terms “chronic or long-term condition”, “net amount”, “purchaser”, “recoupment”, “similarly situated contracted pharmacy”, and “wholesale invoice audit.” Applies audit notice requirements uniformly and ensures access to an appropriate point of contact. Requires a pharmacy benefits manager to provide a list of records that the auditing entity seeks to audit at least 5 business days before an audit. Limits activities to once every 12 months and sets standards for wholesale invoice audits. Ensures audit costs are borne solely by the pharmacy benefits manager. Clarifies that a pharmacy can appeal the amount of any reimbursement and that a contracted pharmacy’s representative can take actions and receive notices related to appeals on behalf of a pharmacy. Extends pharmacies’ ability to appeal from 10 days to 40 days to account for entities that complete retroactive billing.’

It does a lot more.  I’m cutting it short for ‘e-space’ reasons (aka I’m lazy).

The bad, as in blatant special interest legislation:

‘…allows for the delivery of alcoholic liquors from any entity with a valid off-premise license…and  In addition, this substitute provides that acts of a licensed consumer delivery permittee or a delivery driver are not attributable to the retailer, and clarifies that § 516 of Title 4 applies to package stores, restaurants, and clubs…In addition, this substitute bill provides that a third-party delivery vendor may charge package stores no more than a single, flat rate that is applicable to all package stores.’

Campaign contributions all around!

I found the House Agenda less intriguing.  YMMV.

Today’s House Committee highlights:

HB 451 (K. Johnson) ‘ clarifies that Delaware’s Fair Housing Act (Chapter 46 of Title 6) prohibits housing practices that have a discriminatory effect, commonly known as “disparate impact,” even in the absence of discriminatory intent.  Housing.

HB 403 (Snyder-Hall) ‘requires taprooms and taverns to keep at least 2 working opioid antagonists on the premises at all times. It also requires employees who sell alcohol to receive training in the use of opioid antagonists in an emergency as part of State-mandated training.’  Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce.

HB 450 (Bush) appears to be one of those ‘cutting bureaucratic red-tape’ bills.  However, when I see Reps. Morrison and Wilson-Anton on the bill, my suspicion is allayed. Somewhat.  The bill:

‘make(s) significant changes to Delaware’s land use permitting process by building on Governor Meyer’s Executive Order No. 18, which created the Permitting Accelerator to reform policies, processes, and procedures that have accumulated over decades and are holding back jobs, housing, and other critical infrastructure statewide. In 2019, a study of Delaware’s permitting process was undertaken. The study concluded that Delaware’s permitting process was significantly longer and more challenging than those of surrounding states in the region.’  Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce.

This Act allows Delaware horse racetracks to sell alcohol for on-premise consumption until 2:00 a.m. This Act also removes the power of municipalities to require closing time to be at an earlier time for horse racetracks that sell alcoholic liquor.

Lumpy Carson is the sponsor.  What track does he frequent?  Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce.

Y’know, I notice a theme emerging with this year’s bills–expansion of opportunities to drink alcohol both at home and out in public.

I call your attention to the agenda for the House Appropriations Committee.  I’m pretty sure that all the bills here are being considered because funding for their implementation have been included in the State Budget.  Which makes sense, as the members of the House Appropriations Committee are also the House members on the Joint Finance Committee.

No Senate committee meetings today.

Let’s close on a positive note:

My State Rep. introduces a great bill designed to protect voting rights from federal intrusion!  This in some ways takes the same approach as did legislation passed a few sessions ago that Sen. Townsend sponsored in response to Supreme Court threats to Roe v Wade.  More on this as the bill (hopefully) progresses.  In this case, the endangered right is the right to vote.

State Rep. Larry Lambert joins legal advocates, Delaware residents, and the Delaware ACLU to rally at the state house for HB 444.
Bente Bouthier/Delaware Public Media
State Rep. Larry Lambert joins legal advocates, Delaware residents, and the Delaware ACLU to rally at the state house for HB 444.
 

DL Open Thread: Tuesday, June 9, 2026

4 Replies

Not Everything You Wanted To Know About Delaware’s New Medical School, But Everything That’s Knowable Now:

Here is what we know about Delaware’s first medical school, and its potential impact on the state’s healthcare landscape.

A federal taxpayer grant, for at least five years, will pay for Delaware’s medical school. But state officials have said that following those five years, the medical school will be able to sustain itself. (Just like the Port?)

The grant, the Rural Health Transformation Program, is aimed at improving rural health across the country. It was created last summer to court Republican senators hesitant to support more than $900 billion in cuts to Medicaid, which could disproportionately impact rural communities and their healthcare facilities.

In plans submitted to the federal government, Delaware budgeted more than $100 million to run its medical school for five years. But Neil Hockstein, chair of the Delaware Health Care Commission, said the signed contract allows Jefferson to run the school for $78 million.

Asked how the state is required to spend the remaining funds, he said Delaware is allowed to reallocate that money to any of its other 14 RHTP initiatives.

Hockstein added the state intends to spread those leftover funds across multiple different programs instead of reallocating them to just one initiative.

Additionally, Hockstein said when the federal money runs out for the medical school, it would be “self-sustaining without an influx of state dollars.” Still, he said he hopes the state’s philanthropic ventures would help to support the medical school’s future.  (Oh.)

Students in that first cohort receiving free education would be allowed to leave the state for their residency, but would be required to return to Delaware following that post-graduate education (what happens if they don’t?). For that first cohort, Delaware officials said that tuition would be funded through the federal grant.

This seems redundant:

For those who heard news that Delaware would be opening its own medical school, some within the state may have asked about existing state programs meant to place Delawareans into medical education.

The Delaware Institute of Medical Education and Research, better known as DIMER, is the state’s most prominent medical education program. Currently, it places Delaware students into nearby medical schools like Jefferson and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM).

It appears, however, that DIMER will continue to operate as normal, but may evolve in the coming years. At a Delaware Healthcare Commission meeting on Thursday, Hockstein said the medical school and DIMER programs serve different purposes.

“One is to give Delawareans an opportunity to get into medical school, and the other is to bring students from around the country to Delaware, where they can train,” Hockstein said during the meeting.  (Oh.)

So. The article raises as many questions as it answers.  Which is precisely what it was intended to do.  Great reporting.

Trump Goes To New York.  Knicks Lose.

As the Knicks have romped through the N.B.A. playoffs this spring, their embattled fans, desperate for their beloved team’s first title in more than 50 years, wondered what — if anything — could spoil the good vibes.

For many New Yorkers, the arrival of President Trump, who attended Game 3 of the finals at Madison Square Garden against the San Antonio Spurs, seemed like an answer. Heightened security at the arena meant that some fans waited more than an hour to enter. Entire blocks nearby were closed to pedestrians. The popular watch party outside the Garden was canceled because of safety concerns.

The fans in deep-blue New York City responded with rancor. Mr. Trump smiled and saluted in the face of deafening boos when he briefly appeared on the arena’s video board during the playing of the national anthem. The ire quickly turned to cheers as the screen shifted to Jalen Brunson, the Knicks’ all-star point guard.

Upstairs at Madison Square Garden, Mr. Trump sat in a suite above the scorer’s table with a group of allies that included Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; Dan Scavino, the White House deputy chief of staff; Interior Secretary Doug Burgum; and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

He was the guest of James Dolan, the unpopular Knicks owner and a longtime friend of the president. Mr. Dolan told ESPN in 2018 that he got married at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s private club in Florida.

“They’re really great, a great team,” Mr. Trump said last week to reporters, discussing his support of the Knicks. “I’m happy for Jim.”

Mayor Zohran Mamdani also attended, wearing a striped shirt that included the Knicks’ colors. He watched from a standing-room section farther away from the action than Mr. Trump, with a group of state representatives from New York. He said he paid about $1,000 for his own ticket.

On Sunday, the Secret Service announced heavy restrictions for fans on account of Mr. Trump’s attendance. Entrances had the unpleasant vibes of airport security, with members of the Transportation Security Administration on hand to help with the extensive inspections, even opening and checking the purses and wallets of media members.

Everything he touches turns to shit.  Perhaps even the Knicks.  Should they lose this series, Trump will be remembered and reviled in NYC. As he should be. And as he is. Have I mentioned lately that I live for snark?:

— Nita Cosby (@5-2blue.bsky.social) 2026-06-09T03:52:17.221Z

As the centrist Dems furrow their collective brows over Graham Platner, this is precisely how I feel (except for the being from Maine stuff):

From TPM Reader BP …

As a Mainer, I have been waiting (and waiting and waiting:-) for you to weigh in on Platner, since I respect your opinion so much and this whole thing has been crazy. I have been amazed at the over the top reactions and use of new info to verify black and white priors from so many in the media and on socials.  Most of that is from people outside Maine. In my little corner here:

1. Mainers REALLY respect the hard work Platner is putting in. Quiet hard work is highly valued here.  It’s not just 80 town halls. He goes anywhere and everywhere to talk with any group that invites him, walks any picket line he’s invited to. It’s probably hundreds of meetings, town halls, and just showing up for a cause at this point in the campaign. He appears with other candidates to boost their visibility, and has helped the three best candidates (in my opinion) form a ranked choice coalition in the tight governor’s race.

2. The first time I saw him last September, he insisted the race isn’t about him (ironic I know!). He said it was about 40 years of the system being designed to concentrate power with a few, and it would take decades of hard work beyond individual candidates and campaigns to undo it. As part of that, he asked people in the audience to volunteer to defeat a voter restriction referendum and pass a red flag law referendum. The campaign had info on how to support that work at the event. He then led his volunteer networks in days of action door knocking, phone calling etc. before election day. Polls showed tight margins, but we ended up winning those battles in landslides. Likewise, his support has helped get funding for a rape kit bill that Mills had pocket vetoed and left to languish. Whether you believe he is sincere or not, his volunteers are notching impressive progressive victories in the state for good causes at a time when many of us were feeling totally hopeless and ineffectual.

3. Good lord, the fixation on the tattoo. I was a history minor and history TA in college. I’ve watched documentaries and war movies for 40+ years. I never knew what a Totomkopf was till I saw and heard about it during this campaign. The hysteria about this and insisting he is some closet Nazi, when he has 1300 Reddit posts out there with plenty of stupid shit in them but not one espousing any support for Nazis is insane. If the guy had any fascist tendencies, it would have shown up there. Now about that misogyny . . .

4. Honestly, it’s a cliche, but people really need to get offline and go out and touch grass. Or build some furniture. Or plant a garden. People just living their lives in Maine are deeply concerned about the price of gas, groceries, and especially, our unsustainable property tax hikes. Lack of home health care for elders, maternity wards closing down, food banks being overrun with clients . . . all this stuff weighs heavily on us every day, and Collins’s schtick is wearing quite thin. Will she win again? Who knows. But having lived through Gideon’s campaign as a 2nd District resident, Platner is an infinitely stronger candidate. Plus Collins is much frailer, older, and more Trump aligned this time. I doubt she will debate Platner, given how uncontrolled her tremors are (definitely Biden debate potential there).

More may come out that’s truly disqualifying, but so far none of this is it. Democrats really want Collins gone, and the state has trended bluer in the past few years. I wish everyone would calm down and focus on the policy issues. If they do, Platner wins. If Democrats online want to win some self-righteous battle on the internet with a bunch of strangers about a tattoo or a 12 year old toxic relationship … they might as well get paid by some Leo outfit because they are only boosting Collins. Eyes on the prize.

I’m a subscriber.  Which is why I’m allowed to post the whole thing.  Might I suggest a subscription for you too?

What do you want to talk about?