Alby

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May 31 Open Thread: Maybe Trump Is Impeachable

Filed in International, National, Open Thread by on May 31, 2018 31 Comments

Almost everybody assumes that, even if Democrats retake the House in November, impeachment is a non-starter because two-thirds of the Senate would have to vote in favor of removing him from office, and there’s been no sign so far that even overwhelming evidence would get enough Republicans to go along. Lucian Truscott, writing at Salon, […]

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May 30 Open Thread: Trump’s Katrina That Wasn’t

Filed in Delaware, National, Open Thread by on May 30, 2018 2 Comments

When Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, I thought it would do to Trump what Katrina did to Bush — reveal to the broad public the incompetence of a crony-coddling administration. The incompetence was there, and it’s been coupled with a disgusting level of disaster profiteering, but the public barely noticed. Unless the power on the […]

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Why Are Liberals Obsessed With the Racism of Conservatives?

Filed in National by on May 30, 2018 31 Comments

The swift axing of Roseanne Barr kicked off a Mardi Gras of gloating by liberals, especially those who like to ferret out the racism/sexism/xenophobia of others. If I had a dollar for every Daily Kos diary that amounted to, “See? See? It’s not economic anxiety!” I could treat everyone to dinner at Sullivan’s. This reaction […]

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May 29 Open Thread: Is Trump Impeachable?

Filed in National, Open Thread by on May 29, 2018 88 Comments

Some people are peddling the notion that there is no “civil war” among Democrats. Their evidence: Candidates who have won primary races span the ideological spectrum from Blue Dogs to Berniecrats. The flaw in this logic should be clear — internal differences usually get papered over in the face of a common enemy — but […]

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Coons Picks On Someone His Own Size

Filed in National by on May 25, 2018 33 Comments

Sen. Chris Coons put his foot down yesterday, writing a letter to Chuck Grassley expressing — I hope you’re sitting down — deep concern that Donald Trump Jr. might have lied to Congress. “I am writing to you because I am deeply concerned that, based on new information we learned this week, Donald Trump Jr. […]

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May 24 Open Thread: NFL Owners Bow and Scrape, Players Must Stand

Filed in National by on May 24, 2018 21 Comments

The National Football League has a big orange problem, and it’s not the Cincinnati Bengals. The league’s owners adopted a policy that players who don’t want to stand for the National Anthem must stay in their locker rooms, pleasing nobody, and yesterday admitted they did so out of fear of Trump, who back in happier, […]

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May 23 Open Thread: NCCo Tax Hike Dies in Fiery Collision With Reality

Filed in National by on May 23, 2018 21 Comments

New Castle County executive Matt Meyer claimed he was confident his proposed 15% tax increase would pass, which makes him 0 for 3 in his arithmetic: Everybody else thought 15% was too much to ask for, everybody else knew even-numbered years have elections in them (though not for his job) and last night county council […]

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Satan Claws Hole in White House Lawn

Filed in National by on May 22, 2018 4 Comments

An “unexplained” sinkhole opened in the White House lawn, but I think we all know what the explanation is. The devil has come to claim his own. I’ve read “The Devil and Daniel Webster.” Mr. Scratch will draw up a contract giving you anything you want, but when he comes to collect his due, you’d […]

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May 21 Open Thread: School Shootings Caused by Everything But Guns

Filed in National by on May 21, 2018 13 Comments

Margaret Atwood, most famous for “The Handmaid’s Tale,” summed up gender relations succinctly when she said, “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.” And schoolkids are afraid that when those laughed-at schoolmates take their revenge, they’ll take lots of bystanders with them, as the Texas […]

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May 18 Open Thread: Sports Betting Won’t Help Casinos, Says Casino CEO Begging State for Cash

Filed in National by on May 18, 2018 20 Comments

Delaware’s casinos like to cry poormouth. The ink is barely dry on the Supreme Court’s ruling that states can legalize sports betting and the racinos have already announced plans to begin taking bets next month. Lest anyone think this alleviates the gambling barons’ begging for tax relief from the General Assembly, Denis McGlynn of Dover […]

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May 17 Open Thread: How Big Is It, Rudy?

Filed in National by on May 17, 2018 4 Comments

Short stack this morning because I have another engagement and haven’t had time to digest yesterday’s events. This caught my eye, though, considering that Team Trump signaled its intent to conduct a “war” against the Russia probe, which is totally something an innocent person would do: Rudy Giuliani told Laura Ingraham that Mueller doesn’t realize […]

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May 16 Open Thread: Democratic Voters, Like NASCAR Drivers, Turn Left

Filed in National by on May 16, 2018 4 Comments

The Pennsylvania primaries saw many left-leaning Democrats defeat the mainstream party’s preferred candidates. Four of them were also backed by the Democratic Socialists of America. All four were women, and all won their Democratic primaries over men, including a couple of incumbents. The reason economic populism still resonates in despite record-low unemployment is that many […]

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May 15 Open Thread: Future of Democratic Party at Stake Yet Again This Week

Filed in National, Open Thread by on May 15, 2018 35 Comments

It’s primary day in several states, including Pennsylvania, and the national punditocracy has made clear it will claim the results shall determine the future of the Democratic Party. It’s true that many districts have drawn multiple hopefuls, a byproduct of Republican vulnerability. When the opposition looks weak, lots of people are willing to take a […]

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