For those of you going through serious political/news/media withdrawal, maybe you'll appreciate the simple pleasures in the video below (or, if you're more a dog person, the insanely addictive live puppy cam):

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 Here's my first factoid for today's Open Call:

It's a tie: Indiana and Virginia voted for Obama this year -- the first time either had turned blue in a staggering 44 years (1964, Lyndon Johnson).

No states that voted Democrat in 2004 turned Red this year.  Read full post »

We're calling it for Obama! Because we can!

So get your post-election thinking caps on. We want your big hopes for the years to come in the days ahead. 

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For tomorrow, help us dissect the most fascinating facts about the election. (Note: I know, I know. Some of you will claim hangovers, fatigue, or that you're trying to move on. I don't believe you. I know a bunch of political junkies when I see it.)

Suggested format: 

Title: [Your fact… Read full post »

Are you interested in live-blogging the news from your swing state on Election Night? There's a lot of states that could qualify this year -- Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and, of course, Virginia.  All you'll need to do is ke… Read full post »

Boy, there were some great ones. In addition to the ones we've highlighted on the cover, check out all the others tagged "ghost stories", and add your own.

(Also, don't forget to post your submissions in the next day for our Inaugural Open Salon Halloween Costume Contest!)

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Sorry folks. If you've had difficulty accessing the site today, it's because we're having some server issues. We're working on it now. Sorry for the interruption.

Tomorrow we'lll take a break from all the usual Open fare to spotlight some of the dazzling ghost stories that have materialized on the site in recent months -- an hopefully new ones, too. So if you've got your own true ghost story you want to share, post it in… Read full post »

We've rolled out a batch of new changes today, most of which will be invisble to the naked eye, but will help make the site mover more swiftly, and make Thomas much happier.

But there's one particular change I wanted to draw your attention to: We've added a wider variety… Read full post »

Will you be a Sarah, a Joe or a Jeremiah? A Don or a Joan? A Hero, Real Housewife, slut or cylon? Or will you project all of your deep, dark fantasies onto a willing accomplice? 

We want to see your costume this year! Upload a photo after Halloween, and… Read full post »

Two great recent posts -- Pretend Farmer's searing-yet-sensitive response to a beloved aunt; Rich Bank's heated exchange with a former classmate -- got us thinking: How do you talk to people you love whose politics you hate? Especially when the stakes seem so high?

I'm sure you all have stories… Read full post »

Our own Heather Ryan read a great essay this past weekend on "Weekend America." It is a predictably smart, thoughtful and moving meditation on what the economic downturn means (and what it's like to sell your own plasma).

Go right here to hear it, and read it. 

We're  fascinated and concerned by reports of crowd behavior at recent McCain/Palin rallies. We'd like to see it for ourselves -- and have it monitored -- and suspect you do, too.

So: Calling all would-be Michael Moores! Welcome, wannabe Alex Gibneys! Upload your footage  from any rallies… Read full post »

Our server upgrade last night unleashed some residual bugs in the network -- a delay in comments showing up, some problems with images (avatars specifically). We're working them out as I type.

 Thanks for your patience. 

The network will be going down within the hour (around 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT) for a scheduled upgrade. If you're working on a post, it might be safe to take it offload so you won't lose anything!

CJR has posted a quick look at Open Salon over here.

Check it out. Describes Open as "up-market" and "important," and has lots of nice and complimentary mentions of our stellar contributors (um -- that means you!) and deserved attention to Scott Rosenberg, who first proposed a version of Open… Read full post »

The McCain campaign dumped the Palin financial records today (a classic Friday data dump). 

You can download them here.

Anyone want to help dig into these? Let us know -- post anything interesting you find in the Comments below, or blog them on your. Just be sure to tag it… Read full post »

Let's play kingmakers today by Digging Kressskin's Palin debate spoof.  Just go to his post, and click on this icon in the top righthand corner of the post:

Registering for Digg (if you're not already registered) is reasonably fast and simple.

Why, again, do we ask you to… Read full post »

Treasury bonds? Buying low to sell high? Emptying your bank account and stuffing your mattress? Ignoring the newspapers hoping all will return to normal? What, exactly, is your financial strategy during this extreme moment of economic unease?

We want to know what your plan is -- if  you've thou… Read full post »

Tonight's presidential debate is officially back on. It's technically supposed to be about foreign policy and national security, but surely there will be some economic policy questions thrown in by moderator Jim Lehrer for good measure.

Let's say you're granted the temporary power to control  Ji… Read full post »

Salon has a story today by Margriet Oostveen, a Dutch journalist for NRC Handelsblad, detailing her job as a volunteer for the McCain campaign: Ghost-writing fake letters of support for the candidate, following prescribed talking points. This follows a long history in public relations of "astroturfin… Read full post »

Mid-day today, we are going to take a break from all the troubles in the news -- the collapses, the attack ads, the other women and the lipstick smears -- and turn the cover over to soft, cuddly animals. Your animals, in fact.

So snap a pic of your furry… Read full post »

We're experiencing some difficulties with the site this afternoon -- commenting, tagging, navigation, other features may be effected.

 Should be cleared up shortly -- we'll alert you with any updates i… Read full post »

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An emerging campaign attack strategy against Sen. John McCain is to attack him for lying -- and lying a lot, about presumably everything.

Many of you will agree with that -- and some of you won't. So let's see some proof.

I think it would be  useful to compile  a… Read full post »