{"id":10818,"date":"2013-08-09T01:32:11","date_gmt":"2013-08-09T08:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=10818"},"modified":"2013-08-09T01:32:11","modified_gmt":"2013-08-09T08:32:11","slug":"open-thread892013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2013\/08\/09\/open-thread892013\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Thread–8\/9\/2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

Writing for tomorrow, day 56, It\u2019s 82\u00b0 at my desk, so I used the morning to catch op on paperwork chores I neglected.  At best, it\u2019s a one day respite.<\/font><\/p>\n

Update: The respite didn\u2019t even last a day. \ud83d\ude41<\/font><\/p>\n

Jig Zone Puzzle<\/strong>:<\/font><\/p>\n

Today\u2019s took me 4:24 (average 5:35).  To do it. click here<\/a>.  How did you do?<\/font><\/p>\n

Short Takes<\/strong>:<\/font><\/p>\n

From NT Times<\/a>: <\/font>Gov. Rick Scott of Florida, newly empowered by the United States Supreme Court\u2019s ruling<\/a> in June that struck down<\/a> the heart of the Voting Rights Act, has ordered state officials to resume a fiercely contested effort to remove noncitizens from voting rolls.<\/p>\n

The program, which was put in place before the 2012 election, became mired in lawsuits and relentless criticism from opponents who viewed it as harassment and worse \u2014 a partisan attack by a Republican governor on Hispanic and Democratic voters. <\/p>\n

I bet I’m not the only one, who is not surprised by Scott’s racist response to the Dred Scott Jr.<\/em> decision from the fascist five Injustices of SCROTUS.<\/font><\/p>\n

From MSNBC<\/a>: <\/font>Rachel Maddow on Iowa Caucuses<\/p>\n

 <\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news<\/a>, world news<\/a>, and news about the economy<\/a><\/p>\n

I’d like to see all primaries held in four successive weeks according to a rotating schedule so no state gets special benefits over others, and to shorten campaign season, with one exception. For the first forty years, Iowa should be last.<\/font><\/p>\n

From Think Progress<\/a>: <\/font>…The very premise of a debate is for candidates to answer tough questions about where they stand on key issues that matter to the constituents they will be tasked with representing. For decades, those debates have been in the form of moderated conversations amongst the candidates, distributed on news networks and overseen by objective journalists. But after suffering two presidential defeats, the Republican Party has had enough: instead, they only want people who are interested in electing Republicans to be the ones asking the questions.<\/p>\n