If you aren't into tonight's Democratic Debate or the Republican Gala, here's an open thread to discuss other topics. As for me, I'm pretty much focused on what I'm now calling "alternative TV watching" and ISIS news.

For alternative TV watching, Viceland is replaying six episodes of F*ck That's Delicious, with NY chef turned rapper, Action Bronson and crew. You can watch online or on cable. I think the episodes called Culinary Athleticism (filmed in New York) and "The Showdown in Lamb Alley" (filmed in Morocco, trailer below)are the best.

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And while I wasn't crazy about the host of Viceland's series States of Undress in the first episode about Fashion Week in Pakistan , the most recent episode on Venezuelan beauty queens was very good. Host Haily Gates has grown on me. I actually like watching her now. [More...]

We've been spared Democratic debates for a month. There's one beginning in a few minutes on CNN.
If anyone's watching (and I will watch some)here's a place for your thoughts on it.

Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich are speaking tonight at a Republican gala at the Grand Hyatt hotel on 42nd St. in New York City.

Will Trump remind everyone he built the hotel at age 27, and 20 years later sold his interest for $140 million? It was his first big real estate deal. In 1976, the hotel was called The Commodore, and really run-down.

Here's a thread to discuss the Republican event tonight.

Update: Trump did indeed begin with his Hyatt hotel deal and he went on and on about it for far too long.

Is the 20th time the charm for former Charles Manson follower Leslie van Houten, imprisoned since 1969 for the La Bianca murders? The parole board in California today agreed to recommend she be granted parole. Although she has been a minor inmate, her prior 19 requests were denied. The final decision will be up to Gov. Jerry Brown.

I've supported her parole here on TalkLeft since 2002. [More..]

The CBC has a new interview (you can read it without having to watch a video) with Belgian jihadist tracker Pieter Van Ostaeyen (who I've been reading and quoting for over a year a half.) From the new interview:

Few understand ISIS like Van Ostaeyen. And what he sees now is a mutation in the group, in the rhetoric and the recruiting. He points out that the language is less about Islamic fundamentalism and is increasingly focused on the notion of revenge.

"What they really want … is the clash of civilizations," he says. Revenge for what ISIS claims the West has done to Iraq and Syria. And the more ground ISIS loses there, the more the group lusts for bloodshed in Europe.

He says Western intelligence has failed for the simple reason they have no idea what they are looking for. What they should be looking for now: those with criminal backgrounds, not religious extremists. [More...]

According to Politico, Palm Beach County Attorney David Aronberg will announce tomorrow there will be no prosecution of Donald Trump's campaign manager Corey Lewandowski for battery.

Aronberg would not comment, but in a POLITICO interview last week, he pointed out that Jupiter police had a low “probable cause” standard to cite Lewandowski for battery. But the responsibility for moving forward with a full-blown prosecution rested with Aronberg’s office, which had to consider whether a crime occurred and whether they believed a jury of Floridians would prosecute.

(I think the last word in that quote was meant to be "convict" not prosecute.) Lewandowski was cited by the Jupiter, FL police for allegedly grabbing the arm of ex-Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields who wanted to ask Trump a question after a news conference.

Miami attorney David Marcus told Politico while Lewandowski's conduct might technically fit the battery statute, it's not a wise use of the state's resources. [More...]

It's National Grilled Cheese Day. There's an abundance of great photos and recipes everywhere.

On TV, The Late Late Show seems to be on vacation again this week, it's all repeats. I'm still watching Viceland, alternating with HGTV's Tiny House Hunters. You can watch 5 episodes online here. Who would choose to live in such small spaces? Millennials, mostly it seems. It's apparently now a movement. What an odd generation.[More...]

Paul Ryan claims he won't accept the Republican nomination. Who believes him? NPR tries to make a case for John Kasich.

538 says Ted Cruz has the most endorsements among Republicans in Congress.

Andrew Romano, writing for Yahoo News, lays out Cruz' strategy for California and has some thoughts on the "GOP's Veep problem." During the 2008 election cycle, Andrew wrote for Newsweek. We sat next to each other at a a Romney house party in Iowa and I followed his reporting after that. He's a good reporter.[More...]

Bernie Sanders has moved from trying to convince superdelegates to vote for the "will of the people" to asking superdelegates in states he lost to vote for him anyway. The AP asks if he's trying to have his cake and eat it too.

What’s behind this tactical shift? One possibility is that the Sanders camp realized they would need the votes of at least some superdelegates even in the states he didn’t carry. As the Washington Post points out, caucus states, where Sanders has done the best, tend to have fewer superdelegates to award, so Clinton would still lead Sanders by several hundred superdelegates, even if you gave Sanders all of them in the states he won.

538 says Hillary has a 99% chance of winning the New York primary. Nationally, the AP says, despite his last 7 wins, Hillary still leads both in pledged delegates and popular vote totals.

The Washington Post reports Bernie's latest cake-fest is a long-shot. [More...]

Everyone has a different theory about what's ahead for Republicans and Donald Trump. The media, which pushed him to the top in the first place, has finally begun the backtrack. Is it too late? Is the apparent alternative (Ted Cruz) worse? Is John Kasich relevant?

In The 2016 U.S. Presidential Race: A Cheat Sheet, an article assessing the state of the race for the presidential nomination, with a section on each of the current and former contenders for all parties, the Atlantic writes about Trump:

Who is he?
America’s sweetheart—well, America’s high-school sweetheart, the one you get embarrassed thinking about decades later.

[More...]

I have no idea who .Mic News is or why Google News is promoting its stories above mainstream media articles on its News home page. But .Mic should fire its headline writer and Google needs a new algorithm for picking news articles. Example: This headline is false and inexcusable. And it's the number one story on my Google News page.

Obama did not say intervention in Libya was the worst mistake of his Presidency. He said he still supports intervening in Libya, his worst mistake was in failing to plan for the day after the intervention. The quote:

“Probably failing to plan for the day after,” Obama said in the session, which was taped at the University of Chicago on April 7. He added that intervening in Libya “was the right thing to do.”

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Your turn. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

There is no huge fight for Republican delegates in Colorado. Donald Trump isn't here. Colorado is off his radar. Ted Cruz can have the state's delegates.

"The process here doesn't lend itself to our kind of campaign," said Alan Cobb, a senior Trump adviser based in Kansas who is on the ground in Colorado Springs. "Our expectations are really low. If we get a delegate number higher than zero, it's going to be a success."

Kasich isn't coming to Colorado either. He has sent ex-Sen. John Sununu to pitch for him. Sununu claims Republicans will lose the U.S. senate and the state legislature to Dems if Trump is the nominee. [More...]

So it took Hillary five swipes to get her metrocard to work in the New York Subway. At least she had a card. Bernie thought subways still use tokens.

But in an interview with the editorial board of The Daily News this month, Mr. Sanders bungled a question about the New York City subway. “You get a token and you get in,” he said, even though tokens were long ago replaced by MetroCards. The tabloid also marked Mr. Sanders’s turn toward New York with a cover story this week attacking his position on granting immunity to gun manufacturers.

[More...]

I'm busy at work today. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.