National

DL Open Thread Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024

Filed in International, National, Open Thread by on September 28, 2024 17 Comments

When Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race, many pundits pointed out that what seemed like a truncated campaign, a three-month “sprint” to Election Day, was the full length of campaigns in most Western nations. Skip ahead two months, and with six weeks still to go it already feels like it’s been going on […]

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DL Open Thread Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024

Filed in National, Open Thread by on September 26, 2024 1 Comment

It was so quaint of Hillary Clinton to think that our nation’s deplorables would fit in one basket. We got more than a basketful just in yesterday’s news. New York is learning what Wilmington did: Cops don’t make good mayors. Eric Adams has become the first mayor of New York City to be indicted in […]

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DL Open Thread Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024

Filed in National, Open Thread by on September 25, 2024 48 Comments

There’s unquestionably something wrong with these people. Once again a right-wing loonjob is in the news for killing a dog. This time it’s an excrescence on the body politic named Kevin Roberts. He’s now the head of the Heritage Foundation, but 20 years ago he was just an undistinguished assistant professor of history at highly […]

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Song of the Day 9/20: Homer Banks, “Coming Together”

Filed in National by on September 20, 2024 1 Comment

Another nugget from “Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos,” the 2023 box set that includes three discs of songs that, like this one, were demoed for the label’s stable of artists but never got a proper recording. Homer Banks, a Memphis native, had cut some minor singles that went nowhere in the US, […]

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DL Open Thread: Friday, September 20, 2024

Filed in Featured, National, Open Thread by on September 20, 2024 15 Comments

‘black NAZI!’ Still Running For Governor In North Carolina.  I’m calling it now–Harris wins NC: Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson of North Carolina, the Republican nominee for governor with a long history of inflammatory and offensive remarks in the battleground state, on Thursday vowed to stay in the race as CNN reported that he had once […]

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Song of the Day 9/12: Linda Ronstadt, “La Cigarra”

Filed in Arts and Entertainment, National by on September 12, 2024 2 Comments

Big shout-out to Linda Ronstadt, who took to Instagram on the occasion of a Trump rally in her hometown today to blister the immigrant-hating/immigrant-marrying ex-president. Donald Trump is holding a rally on Thursday in a rented hall in my hometown, Tucson. I would prefer to ignore that sad fact. But since the building has my […]

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Presidential Debate Open Thread

Filed in National by on September 10, 2024 16 Comments

I don’t have cable TV, so I couldn’t watch this debate even if I wanted to. So I’m counting on you readers to keep me apprised of developments.

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DL Primary Election Results Open Thread: Sept. 10, 2024

Filed in National by on September 10, 2024 91 Comments

Polls close at 8.  The timing on when the first results come in is, um, variable. In theory, the early voting results could come in fairly early. But I’ve detected no consistent pattern from the Department Of Elections over the past few cycles. We should have a pretty good idea of where things stand by […]

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DL Open Thread Monday, Sept. 9, 2024

Filed in National, Open Thread by on September 9, 2024 5 Comments

John Carney wasn’t alone in trying to force people into Medicare Advantage. Among the horrors of Project 2025 is a scheme to make Medicare Advantage rather than traditional Medicare the default plan for enrollees. That’s not just bad for enrollees, who have worse outcomes on Medicare Advantage, it’s bad for Medicare’s solvency. In theory, the […]

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DL Open Thread Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024

Filed in National, Open Thread by on September 4, 2024 2 Comments

“Trump has yet to find an attack on Harris that will stick.” This is, no joke, how the media is treating his campaign’s All Insults, All The Time strategy, along with dutifully repeating every insult every time. That they consider this part of their mission is good evidence that they are part of the problem. […]

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DL Open Thread: Saturday, August 31, 2024

Filed in National by on August 31, 2024 14 Comments

Gotta make this quick–Arden Fair beckons (Catch me at the book sale from 10-12!) Brazil Shows Us The Way.  This is how you get rid of that Musk-y Odor Of Misinformation: X began to go dark across Brazil on Saturday after the nation’s Supreme Court blocked the social network because its owner, Elon Musk, refused […]

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DL Open Thread Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024

Filed in National, Open Thread by on August 28, 2024 7 Comments

Count on Donald Trump to screw the unscrewable pooch. Seeking to dispel the accurate charge that he has contempt for the U.S military and those who join it, Trump’s team took him to Arlington National Cemetery for a photo op proving that he does too like the troops, even if he calls them “suckers.” Just […]

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Flag of the Month: The 51-Star Flag of Puerto Rican Statehood

Filed in National by on August 27, 2024 5 Comments
Flag of the Month: The 51-Star Flag of Puerto Rican Statehood

Guest post by Jason 330 “USA! USA! USA!” I’m not a big “USA!” chant guy, but when this chant was raised at the DNC, I loved it. I loved how Harris ripped the flag away from the party of insurrection and poked them in the eye with the golden eagle. No. If fascism comes to […]

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