National
DL Open Thread Tuesday, October 10, 2023
I’m not following the Hamas-Israeli conflict, but as sportswriter Hugh Keough (not Damon Runyan) observed, “The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but that is the way to bet.” An even safer bet: Palestinians in Gaza will bear the brunt of the human cost. Another sure winner: The […]
DL Open Thread Monday, October 9, 2023
Do House Republicans hand out Speaker of the House bonus points for being a kiddie diddler? Dennis Hastert, former high school wrestling coach, served in the office. Now America’s drooling class wants to put Jim Jordan in the job, and while nobody has implicated him in the actual molestation that took place while he was […]
Song of the Day 10/6: The Sex Pistols, “Pretty Vacant”
They would never admit it, even to themselves, but the Freedom Caucus apparently is in favor of anarchy in the U.S. House, which makes the Sex Pistols the perfect soundtrack for their exercise in nihilism. According to original bassist Glen Matlock, who wrote the song, “‘Pretty Vacant’ is a primal scream kind of thing: We […]
Song of the Day 10/5: The Kinks, “Situation Vacant”
With a tip o’ the sombrero to El Som. Yoohoo, anybody home? House Republicans are demonstrating that maybe men do too think about the Roman Empire too much, and no that good comes of it. One online reviewer called this tune “a classic Ray Davies character piece in which ambition leads to misery.” That sounds […]
DL Open Thread Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023
Chris Coons must be having the mother of all sads today. After Kave-in McCarthy was ousted as House speaker, a GOP member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus told CNN that Republicans in the group are considering quitting en masse because none of its Democratic members voted to retain him. Republicans apparently can’t conceive of […]
BREAKING: McCarthy Loses Speakership
216-210. 8 R’s voted to remove McCarthy, no D’s voted for McCarthy. Circular firing squad. Rethugs are livid at the renegades. But, hey, McCarthy cut the deal that made this inevitable.
DL Open Thread Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023
Matt Gaetz – am I the only one who thinks he looks like a low-quality AI rendering of a young Jack Nicholson? – has pulled the trigger on his threat to depose Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House. This puts McCarthy’s fate in the hands of House Democrats; Josh Marshall weighs the pros and […]
DL Open Thread Monday Oct. 2, 2023
It takes a lot of dysfunction for the media to notice the GOP is in disarray, but that tipping point has been reached. Matt Gaetz says he’ll try to oust Kave-in McCarthy as speaker, while as-yet-nameless Republicans are expel Gaetz from Congress because, one said, “No one can stand him at this point.” This is […]
Song of the Day 9/30: “Flipper” Theme
Former Republican poll watcher Scott Hall pled guilty to five criminal counts and must testify against co-defendants, notably former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, his contact in the plot. He’s the first of 19 defendants in the case to flip. I’m guessing he won’t be the last. For those too young to remember it, “Flipper” was […]
Meanwhile, in New Jersey…
Indicted Sen. “Gold Bar Bob” Menendez refuses to resign, but nobody expects him to survive a primary for his seat. Yet so far only one office-holder, U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, has stepped forward to announce a challenge to the scandal-plagued incumbent. As this story recounts, it’s not for lack of people who want a higher […]
Reflecting on 18 years of DL & Thanks
Well, it looks like I picked a heck of a day to hang it up, but this is it for me. My last post. 18 years is a long time, so I have some people to thank. For everyone I name I’m going to forget tons of people, so just know that if you’ve been […]
DL Open Thread Friday, Sept. 29, 2023
Considering the pointlessness of the entire spectacle – all the challengers combined don’t reach Trump’s share of the Republican voters – the media sure is spilling a lot of pixels talking about the GOP gabfest. I’m not linking to any of it because I don’t want to encourage them. Besides, only 9.3 million people tuned […]
DL Open Thread Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023
Trump’s business empire is in legal jeopardy over his constant lying, but lying is all he knows how to do, so he’s still at it. He gave a speech to a bunch of non-union auto workers and scabs last night but had a bunch of them carry UAW signs. But Philip Bump of the Washington […]
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