DL Open Thread Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021

Everyone acts surprised that Republicans “don’t believe in science,” but they shouldn’t be — conservatives have never bothered to support any of their arguments with data that go beyond anecdotes. To pick the most obvious example, they prattle on and on about trickle-down economics yet have never produced any evidence that it works — indeed, there are reams of evidence that it doesn’t. And that situation is duplicated on almost any issue you care to name.

This isn’t resistance to science — this is resistance to evidence that contradicts what they would like to believe, which boils down to Gordon Gekko’s “Greed is good” mantra from the Reaganomics era. So I expect Republicans to ignore this: States that accepted the ACA’s Medicaid expansion saw medical debt fall 44%, while those that didn’t saw only a 10% drop. In a normal world, this would be accepted as what rational people call “a solution to a problem.” Republicans are too busy making up imaginary problems to be bothered with solving real ones.

Am I surprised that some former crack addict who made a lot of money selling pillows is a not-very-bright whack job? Of course not. I am, however, somewhat surprised that the media still play point-and-laugh at whatever insanity he babbled yesterday. Even Fox News is no longer listening. Pillow Guy threw a hissy fit when they wouldn’t accept ads for some whackadoo confab he’s put together, so he’s pulling his millions of dollars in ads off the network. I can see why he was a crack addict; I can’t see why anyone would buy shitty pillows from a madman.

In further evidence that Li’l Donnie Two-Scoops has nowhere near the clout the media would like to assign to him, the candidate he backed in a Texas special election went down to ignominious defeat in a low-turnout primary. A grand total of 18,279 people listened to Trump, about 47% of those who bothered to vote. Quick, media, tell me again about his widespread support in the GOP, before I start to look at the evidence instead of listening to your fear-mongering.

Furthering the grift, walking shitstain Mark Meadows said the other day that Trump was meeting with his cabinet. That had people talking about coups and shadow governments, but I think it might just mean he’s talking to the imaginary people hiding in his cabinets.

They like to sell the Olympics as bringing out the best in people, but the evidence points strongly in the other direction. GOAT gymnast Simone Biles certainly triggered an avalanche of snowflakes for having the gall to place her own mental health over the patriotism of couch-sitting Real ‘Murcans. She triggered one Texas public official so badly that he was forced to apologize for calling her a “national disgrace.” National disgrace, is it? (Checks notes.) Yep, every accusation is still a confession.

Indeed, this year’s entire wasteful spectacle is a good demonstration of how the system exploits everyone while doing an extra-special job of treating women like shit. With any luck, this year’s abysmal ratings will speed the end of these quadrennial monuments to corporate greed.

You can tell things are slowly returning to normal in Delaware: Property owners in beach resort towns are griping about overdevelopment again. In Lewes, the town council had no choice but to approve a development that will plop 85 single-family homes onto 35 acres on the road to the ferry, which should certainly cut down on landscaping costs, while in Fenwick Island homeowners are having a conniption about yet another restaurant along Route 54 just west of the canal. Happy days are here again!

The floor’s yours.