El Somnambulo

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Tom Carper and The Third Way

Filed in Delaware, Featured, National by on November 22, 2016 22 Comments
Tom Carper and The Third Way

Delawareans can no longer afford the risk of having Tom Carper in the United States Senate.  He is, in his own way, as dangerous as Donald Trump because he does not represent the people of this state, but rather represents those who control the lives of ordinary people through undue influence.

We have long referred to Carper’s corporatist leanings, but we perhaps haven’t spelled them out so that people truly understood the extent of them, and the extent of the damage he has caused and can cause.

Today we begin.

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Paging 2016 MVP Nominees!

Filed in Delaware, Featured by on November 21, 2016 17 Comments
Paging 2016 MVP Nominees!

Yes, time to honor those who most contributed to the progressive cause in Delaware in 2016.  It was a real tough year, but there were some distinct bright lights, including longtime stalwarts and intriguing newcomers.

While I, of course, have some ideas, I fully expect many of those on the final list, and the order, to come directly from you.

The rules are simple.  Make your suggestions, and explain why they deserve mention.  Keep in mind that individuals or groups are welcome as are those who aren’t progressive, but somehow contributed to the progressive cause.  For example, Christine O’Donnell won this award the year she took out Mike Castle.

I’m also hoping that this may serve as a catharsis to get us all feeling more optimistic about the future and to inspire us to redouble our efforts.  After all, marching isn’t just important, but it’s a great way to lose weight.

Nominate away!

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Celia Cohen Calls It Quits

Filed in National by on November 15, 2016 6 Comments

http://www.delawaregrapevine.com/  

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Open Thread for Thursday, November 10 , 2016

Filed in National by on November 10, 2016 11 Comments

While DD recharges his batteries, we will have special guest threadmeisters filling in for a few days.  And, since today is my turn,  I will open and close this thread with the two songs that came to mind on the morning after the election. Stephen Sondheim’s “Another National Anthem” is from his brilliant show “Assassins”.  […]

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Find the Silver Lining…

Filed in National by on November 9, 2016 28 Comments

in Tuesday’s election results.  Let’s get a big long list. Maybe we’ll feel a little better.  I’ll start: 1. Jack Markell won’t be Secretary of Education. 2. There will be no Special Election for Tim Kaine’s Senate seat. 3. TPP is likely dead. 4. Obnoxious blowhard and friend of Bill and Hill’s Fast Eddie Rendell […]

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The Epic Fail of the Clinton Campaign

Filed in National by on November 4, 2016 56 Comments

This race shouldn’t be close. But it is. Why? Because, IMHO, the Clinton Campaign had an incredibly powerful message to attract working-class voters, but decided not to use it. Virtually every commercial and everything thrown out by the campaign against Trump that I’ve seen falls under one of two themes:  (1) He doesn’t respect women. […]

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‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes: October, 2016

Filed in Arts and Entertainment by on November 1, 2016 2 Comments
‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes: October, 2016

Another great month with some genre-defying music. 

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‘Bulo Brings Musicians’ Musicians to Arden Gild Hall on Sat., Nov. 5

Filed in Arts and Entertainment by on October 27, 2016 2 Comments
‘Bulo Brings Musicians’ Musicians to Arden Gild Hall on Sat., Nov. 5

You can leave the earplugs at home for this show as you will want to hear every tasty musical morsel.  I’m very proud of this bill, which features headliner Ben Sollee, cellist/singer/songwriter/storyteller/political activist and musical collaborator.  I’ve been wanting to bring Ben back to the Hall for six years now, and I’m thrilled we finally got him.  He will perform with his long-time percussionist, Jordon Ellis, and will introduce new songs from his first full-length album in four years. Here’s a tiny bit of what you can expect:

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I TOLD You Scott Walker Was a Slumlord.

Filed in Delaware by on October 27, 2016 7 Comments
I TOLD You Scott Walker Was a Slumlord.

His congressional campaign was quirky, and so he seemed harmless. Which, from a political perspective, he is. But here’s the Scott Walker I know, and he’s finally being sued for it:

The lengthy complaint filed in Delaware’s Court of Chancery says Scott Walker has racked up 371 housing code violations in the city of Wilmington and New Castle County in the last decade.

The full extent of the conditions, however, are unknown since Walker’s “golden rule” for his tenants is that law and code enforcement employees are not allowed access to the properties at any time, the complaint said.

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Something I Learned Today: Friday, Oct. 14

Filed in Arts and Entertainment by on October 14, 2016 4 Comments
Something I Learned Today: Friday, Oct. 14

Need advice on your next wine purchase? Today I learned that, in the future, electronic tongues may well help guide you: The ‘tongue’ is made of gold, platinum and carbon electrodes, and measures the electro-chemical signals of sugars, phenolics and other compounds present in wine, according to its designers. They added that it might even […]

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It’s Trump/Putin. Or Is It Putin/Trump?

Filed in National by on October 11, 2016 8 Comments
It’s Trump/Putin. Or Is It Putin/Trump?

BUSTED!

Trump knows nothing about Russia (true, to a large extent), but it turns out he knows about Russian disinformation. Even quotes it. Although it’s literally impossible that Trump could have gotten that information anywhere but from the Russians. He quoted what turned out to be deliberate misinformation from a Russian publication called ‘Sputnik’.  And it made its way into his campaign speech.  How he got fed and used this this information is something he’ll have to explain.

Let’s let Kurt Eichenwald tell the story:

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Something I Learned Today: Oct. 4, 2016

Filed in Arts and Entertainment by on October 4, 2016 1 Comment
Something I Learned Today: Oct. 4, 2016

This may or may not work.  It dawned on me that I come across new stuff all the time that I want to share with people.  Not necessarily political stuff, but new discoveries that (I think) deserve greater attention.

So this is the start (and perhaps the end) of an infrequent series called “Something I Learned Today”.

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‘Bulo Brings the Blues to Arden!

Filed in Arts and Entertainment by on October 4, 2016 3 Comments

This may be the best blues bill I’ve ever booked.

Joe Louis Walker brings his band to the Arden Gild Hall on Thursday, October 13 at 8 pm.  The so-called opener, Bob Malone, is also not to be missed.

JLW is the reigning Blues Music Awards Male Contemporary Blues Performer of the Year and is an inductee into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame. A true triple threat–axeman, singer, and songwriter. Here is a tiny taste of what you can expect:

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