Open Thread

7 Comments

1. 

   esquimaux on March 25, 2017 at 6:27 pm

   happy Saturday BooMan and everyone.

   anybody here paying attention to the basketball tournament?

2. 

   TarheelDem on March 25, 2017 at 6:29 pm

   Thanks for letting us participate.

   A pretty standard magazine publishing survey, which in the current climate skews toward higher incomes because the magazine’s primary interest in ensuring financial viablility.

   How this informs the Washington Monthly’s business model and supports informing people in red counties about events inside the Washington bubble is critical to dealing with the crisis in governance in the US. IMO, that requires getting enough dispersed geographic coverage in interest to get print placement in the remaining magazine rack channels locally in red states.  Especially in markets that still have big box stores like Barnes and Noble with magazine racks and are not necessarily the largest cities.  Placement and sales in Midland-Odessa TX, Greenville NC, Anderson SC, Stevens Point WI, Troy MI, Huntsville AL, Billings MT to name typical markets at this level are essential to supporting grassroots regeneration of progressive politics in the US.

   Best of luck in regenerating healthy political discussion in the US.

3. 

   Don Durito on March 25, 2017 at 7:06 pm

   Just checking in from overseas. Let’s say that I made sure to enjoy a glass of wine the moment I learned the news that Trumpcare had been pulled from the House Floor. My European friends where I am staying were quite relieved as well. I’ll start my journey home tomorrow. Thankfully ACA is safe for now. Of course there are plenty of other fires to put out, and it is very clear to me more so than ever that our stature in the world has taken quite a beating. Take care all.

   • 

     donnah on March 25, 2017 at 7:56 pm

     Be safe, DD, and keep reminding our friends overseas that most of us are good, decent people. We’ve just been taken over by a group of power and money-hungry idiots.

     • 

       Don Durito on March 28, 2017 at 11:39 am

       Keine sorge (loosely translates to “no worries” – keep in mind, my German speaking skills are relatively minimal). That is precisely what I do when the occasion arises. The impression I get is that there are plenty of folks on the Continent who realize that a significantly large number of us in the US (if not a majority) do not approve of Trump, did not vote for him, and are vocally opposed. And there are subtle moments of silent solidarity with us that I saw from time to time.

4. 

   BooMan on March 25, 2017 at 9:31 pm

   They sat together in the park
    As the evening sky grew dark
    She looked at him and he felt a spark tingle to his bones
    ‘Twas then he felt alone and wished that he’d gone straight
    And watched out for a simple twist of fate

    They walked along by the old canal
    A little confused, I remember well
    And stopped into a strange hotel with a neon burnin’ bright
    He felt the heat of the night hit him like a freight train
    Moving with a simple twist of fate

    A saxophone someplace far off played
    As she was walkin’ by the arcade
    As the light bust through a beat-up shade where he was wakin’ up,
    She dropped a coin into the cup of a blind man at the gate
    And forgot about a simple twist of fate

    He woke up, the room was bare
    He didn’t see her anywhere
    He told himself he didn’t care, pushed the window open wide
    Felt an emptiness inside to which he just could not relate
    Brought on by a simple twist of fate

    He hears the ticking of the clocks
    And walks along with a parrot that talks
    Hunts her down by the waterfront docks where the sailors all come in
    Maybe she’ll pick him out again, how long must he wait
    Once more for a simple twist of fate

    People tell me it’s a sin
    To know and feel too much within
    I still believe she was my twin, but I lost the ring
    She was born in spring, but I was born too late
    Blame it on a simple twist of fate

5. 

   LosGatosCA on March 25, 2017 at 9:46 pm

   ✅