Open Thread

DL Open Thread: Sunday, July 21, 2024

Filed in Featured, Open Thread by on July 21, 2024 6 Comments

THE Single Worst Idea For Replacing Biden.  Not only does it suck.  It wouldn’t work: The writing staff would tell me I was about to jump the shark, that this is a “West Wing” fantasy that would never, ever happen. But as Bradley Whitford used to say, “Isn’t the biggest fantasy on television a mafia […]

Continue Reading »

DL Open Thread: Saturday, July 20, 2024

Filed in Featured, Open Thread by on July 20, 2024 17 Comments

‘Biden And Trump Have Succeeded In Breaking Reality’.  If M. Gessen writes it, I read it: (B)oth campaigns are creating a sense of unreality, in presenting politics as formulaic spectacle, abstracted from the actual politics each candidate represents and from people’s lived experiences. To be sure, the two campaigns are telling very different stories. The […]

Continue Reading »

DL Open Thread: Friday, July 19, 2024

Filed in Featured, Open Thread by on July 19, 2024 12 Comments

Looks like the biggest story from last night was that an untethered Trump is eminently beatable.  Didn’t watch the speech.  Did you?: The new tone lasted 17 minutes. Then, he called on state and federal prosecutors to drop all four criminal cases against him, including the one in which he was convicted of 34 felony […]

Continue Reading »

DL Open Thread: Thurs., July 18, 2024

Filed in Featured, Open Thread by on July 18, 2024 24 Comments

If you’re looking for convention coverage or ‘Waiting For Biden To Come To His Senses’, look elsewhere.  I don’t get paid enough (aka ‘anything’) to inflict either on myself. Biden Cancels More Student Debt.  This time, for 35,000 public service workers: How it works: The Education Department said that the relief was made possible via […]

Continue Reading »

DL Open Thread Wednesday, July 17, 2024

Filed in National, Open Thread by on July 17, 2024 8 Comments

Joe Biden’s handlers don’t fill me with confidence, but they’ve apparently hit upon the bright idea of having him act presidential by throwing a little red meat to Democrats. After years of resisting the obvious, he’s decided to back Supreme Court reform and will announce it with lots of fanfare. GOP apoplexy to follow. The […]

Continue Reading »

DL Open Thread Tuesday, July 16, 2024

Filed in National, Open Thread by on July 16, 2024 16 Comments

Political party conventions used to deserve media attention. Reporters covered them because the party’s nominee wasn’t pre-ordained. That changed when primaries replaced caucuses and smoke-filled rooms. With the nominee already decided, conventions became PR events, but they still get flood-the-zone coverage, just like the Super Bowl. And just like all the words wasted in the […]

Continue Reading »

DL Open Thread Monday, July 15, 2024

Filed in National, Open Thread by on July 15, 2024 22 Comments

And just like that, the media’s obsession with giving voice to Democrats quivering with fear over Joe Biden’s feebleness is yesterday’s news. Well, almost. Axios quoted a “senior House Democrat” saying, “We’ve all resigned ourselves to a second Trump presidency.” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had the right response on Twitter. “If you’re a ‘senior Democrat’ that feels […]

Continue Reading »

DL Open Thread: Friday, July 12, 2024

Filed in Featured, Open Thread by on July 12, 2024 13 Comments

Karl Baker Deconstructs The Bond Bill.  It’s not pretty: Signed into law June 30 by Gov. John Carney, Delaware’s billion-dollar bond bill is sending tens of millions of dollars to downtown Wilmington through a litany of curious appropriations, some buried deep within the epilogue section of the omnibus spending legislation. There’s more than $18 million […]

Continue Reading »

DL Open Thread: Thursday, July 11, 2024

Filed in Featured, Open Thread by on July 11, 2024 44 Comments

How Texas Kills You.  Legally, I mean: The state of Texas, blocked from purchasing lethal injection drugs by major pharmaceutical companies that refuse to participate in executions, bought them instead from an in-state, compounding pharmacy with a history of more than a dozen safety and cleanliness violations, NPR has learned. Rite-Away Pharmacy and Medical Supply […]

Continue Reading »

DL Open Thread Wednesday, July 10, 2024

Filed in National, Open Thread by on July 10, 2024 7 Comments

Joe Biden gave what even Politico conceded was a forceful speech to open the NATO conference. The president didn’t fumble over words as he often does during remarks. He was clear and forceful, appearing energized by the transatlanticism that he has embraced throughout his political career. For most of the political press, this was Not […]

Continue Reading »

DL Open Thread Monday, July 8, 2024

Filed in International, National, Open Thread by on July 8, 2024 20 Comments

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 […]

Continue Reading »

DL Open Thread: Sunday, July 7, 2024

Filed in Featured, Open Thread by on July 7, 2024 8 Comments

For the purposes of today’s Open Thread, I’m gonna assume that Joe will eventually realize he has no choice but to end his candidacy, so I will discuss it no further today. Breaking From The News-Journal!!  Seriously?: University of Delaware researchers discovered a kissing bug found in New Castle County in July 2023 was infected […]

Continue Reading »

DL Open Thread: Saturday, July 6, 2024

Filed in Featured, Open Thread by on July 6, 2024 1 Comment

I didn’t watch last week’s debate.  I dreaded it, and just tried to ignore it.  Wasn’t until the next day that I read the virtually 100% consensus that it was a debacle for Biden.  I watched last night’s interview.  I saw a man unfit to be President.   Although some pundits and the D cheerleaders […]

Continue Reading »