International
DL Open Thread Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024
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 […]
Song of the Day 8/8: Taylor Swift, “Look What You Made Me Do”
Taylor Swift cancelled three shows in Vienna after three suspects were arrested and charged with plotting an attack on her show. Police found bombs and ISIS propaganda, indicating again that Islamic terrorists consider music venues fair game. As a music fan, this does not predispose me to expressing any sympathy for the goals of Islamic […]
DL Open Thread Monday, July 8, 2024
The “Fascism on the Worldwide March” storyline took a major hit the past few days. First voters in England rejected the Tories. Now France’s far-right party, Marine LePen’s National Rally, which seemed poised to take over the premiership, got its ass mightily kicked in the country’s second round of elections. Not only did they not […]
DL Open Thread Monday, June 10, 2024
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 […]
DL Open Thread Monday, June 3, 2024
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 […]
DL Open Thread Tuesday, May 28, 2024
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 […]
DL Open Thread Monday, May 27, 2024
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, […]
DL Open Thread Wednesday, May 22, 2024
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 […]
DL Open Thread Monday, May 20, 2024
Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, was killed when his helicopter crashed. That should give conspiracy theorists plenty of grist, but analysts agree the effects will be internal, because he was seen as a likely future Supreme Leader. Gee, he seemed like such a swell guy. It turns out there were outside agitators. The Washington Post reported […]
Song of the Day 5/13: Baby Lasagna, “Rim Tim Tagi Dim”
Eurovision, the international song contest, rarely makes the news in America, but it’s a big deal in Europe, a sort of a musical Olympics that pits one musical act from each of two dozen or so participating countries, most of them European. They’ve been holding it since 1956, and it’s grown into a live TV […]
DL Open Thread Tuesday, April 16, 2024
And so the torch is passed. Just days after O.J. Simpson, defendant in last century’s Trial of the Century, hurdled off this mortal coil, Donald J. Trump donned the mantle of rich womanizing defendant for what the infotainment industry hopes will be a similar ratings bonanza. The big story on Day 1: Trump fell asleep. […]
DL Open Thread Saturday, April 13, 2024
People who thought Ron DeSantis might stop acting like a tinhorn dictator after his presidential-race embarrassment can abandon that hope. He signed a bill that turns police oversight boards over to the police. In what’s now a running gag, Truth Social’s stock price fell again. It would make a better reality show than the one […]
DL Open Thread Tuesday, April 9, 2024
The news, apparently spooked by yesterday’s eclipse, went into hiding, so the media, as always, fell back on Trump. After a big buildup teasing his position on abortion – can you name another candidate who, eight years after entering the White House, still hadn’t formulated one? – only to chicken out and say the decision […]
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