National

DL Open Thread Monday, June 10, 2024

Filed in International, National, Open Thread by on June 10, 2024 4 Comments

If you’re looking for something more esoteric to worry about than World War III or the climate-induced collapse of civilization, you might want to look into the latest outbreak of avian flu, which has infected two farm workers – one in Texas, the other in Michigan – who caught it from dairy cows. Pasteurization kills […]

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DL Open Thread Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Filed in National, Open Thread by on June 5, 2024 7 Comments

Americans love scary stories, so it’s no surprise that American media dispenses countless articles about Trump. You rarely see his name in European newspapers, but their political leaders are frightened all the same. And, as in the United States, the constant drumbeat has a deleterious effect: As is true here, most are convinced Trump will […]

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DL Open Thread Tuesday, June 4, 2024

Filed in National, Open Thread by on June 4, 2024 4 Comments

For years now I’ve been told that attacking Donald Trump only makes his support stronger. Yeah, sure it does, buddy. Unfortunately for that argument, post-conviction polling says the opposite is true. On the other hand, lots of evidence points to facts not mattering anymore. In a rare sign of fight, Democratic senators Sheldon Whitehouse and […]

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DL Open Thread Monday, June 3, 2024

Filed in International, National, Open Thread by on June 3, 2024 2 Comments

Their dangerous rival just got convicted on 34 felony charges, and the reaction from Democrats is just what we’ve come to expect: They not only don’t know how to capitalize on it, they’re not even sure they should mention it. Now do you understand why they lose? Self-doubt is not something that Republicans ever have […]

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Delaware Political Weekly: May 24-30, 2024

Filed in National by on May 31, 2024 8 Comments

1.  D State Rep. Sophie Phillips Gets Primary Challenger in RD 18.  I have no idea why as she’s great.  The challenger is one Lisa Cooke, or Lisa Cooke-Rossi, she writes it both ways on her campaign finance committee filing.  Regardless of name, it’s this person.  An education paraprofessional at unnamed schools and past-President of […]

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DL Open Thread Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Filed in National, Open Thread by on May 29, 2024 3 Comments

Closing arguments concluded in the Trump hush-money trial, so the speculation has begun. Few think he’ll be acquitted, but opinion seems split on whether he’ll be convicted. One person who has earned the right to opinionate about Trump is David Cay Johnston, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who has covered him, mostly from a financial perspective, […]

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DL Open Thread Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Filed in International, National, Open Thread by on May 28, 2024 1 Comment

Anyone who thinks that removing Benjamin Netanyahu from power would end Israel’s ongoing massacre in Gaza is overlooking an inconvenient truth: Two-thirds of the Israeli public doesn’t just support the war, they support denying humanitarian aid to its victims. There are right-wingers in Israel who make MAGAts look like hippies, like the illegal settlers in […]

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DL Open Thread Monday, May 27, 2024

Filed in International, National, Open Thread by on May 27, 2024 0 Comments

The Washington Post’s motto is “democracy dies in darkness.” It doesn’t say anything about dispelling it. You probably saw the story last week about Supreme Court justice Sam Alito flying an upside-down American flag outside his home. You would have read about it three years ago if the WaPo had decided to print it then, […]

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Song of the Day 5/26: Stevie Wonder, “Too High”

Filed in National by on May 26, 2024 0 Comments

There’s a reason “the dog ate my homework” was a plausible excuse, and had a better chance of working with teachers who owned dogs: Dogs will eat anything. Too picky for plain paper? Spill a little gravy on it. And so, in the age of legalized marijuana, veterinarians have seen a growing number of pet […]

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Song of the Day 5/23: Paul Simon, “Graceland”

Filed in Arts and Entertainment, National by on May 23, 2024 0 Comments

For supermarket tabloids, Elvis is the gift that keeps on giving, even though he’s been dead for nearly 50 years. A headline the Weekly World News might have invented declared that Graceland, Presley’s Memphis mansion-turned-tourist attraction, was up for public auction. A finance company claimed Lisa Marie Presley died with an unpaid loan of $3.8 […]

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DL Open Thread Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Filed in International, National, Open Thread by on May 22, 2024 1 Comment

Rehoboth Beach, the resort town of 1,100 year-round residents that gifted Delaware politics with Pete Schwartzkopf and Kathy McGuiness, is embroiled in a controversy that for once involves neither of them. The city, repeatedly turned down in its quest for a new city manager, hired a guy named Taylour Tedder on a pay-and-benefits package surpassed […]

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Song of the Day 5/21: Randy Rainbow, “Forty-Five”

Filed in National by on May 21, 2024 1 Comment

This is a weird coincidence. Just a couple of days after featuring “9 to 5” as Song of the Day, Randy Rainbow released a new parody song set to its melody. It’s a warning about the Previous Guy, No. 45, and a warning not to make him No. 47, but I’m concerned that it’s not […]

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DL Open Thread Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Filed in National, Open Thread by on May 21, 2024 1 Comment

That Trump trial in New York is getting close to its conclusion, with all the plot twists the writers could think up. Michael Cohen revealed on cross-examination that he stole money from Trump, because of course he did, and a defense witness tried to stare down the judge, which did not go well. Oh well, […]

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