{"id":12331,"date":"2014-03-10T00:17:34","date_gmt":"2014-03-10T07:17:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=12331"},"modified":"2014-03-10T00:17:34","modified_gmt":"2014-03-10T07:17:34","slug":"open-thread3102014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2014\/03\/10\/open-thread3102014\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Thread–3\/10\/2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m writing for tomorrow and am feeling angry, because my fourth automatic drip coffee maker in under a year died last night.  I\u2019ve had it.  I\u2019m going back to an old fashioned manual percolator, but until it arrives on Tuesday, I have to hand-drip water through the maker\u2019s filtration system.  NOT fun!!<\/font><\/p>\n

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

Today\u2019s took me 4:14 (average 6:09).  To do it, click here<\/a>.  How did you do?<\/font><\/p>\n

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

From Daily Kos<\/a>: <\/font>A majority of small business owners want to see the minimum wage raised to $10.10 an hour and then tied to inflation, according to a new poll<\/a> conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner for Small Business Majority. Not only did 57 percent of small business owners say they think the minimum wage should be raised, but 61 percent of those in the typically low-wage retail and restaurant industries agreed. <\/p>\n

Aside from basic morality, these business owners have good reasons for supporting a minimum wage increase:<\/p>\n

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More than half of small business owners (52%) agree with this statement: \u201cIncreasing the minimum wage would be good for small businesses. It means people will have a higher percentage of their income to spend on goods and services and it is proven that low-wage earners tend to spend money at local businesses who will be able to grow and hire new workers.\u201d What\u2019s more, more than one-third (35%) say raising the minimum wage would help make their business more competitive because business competitors won\u2019t be able to undercut them on labor costs.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Since 82 percent of those surveyed said they pay all of their employees more than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, the concerns about being undercut by competitors could be significant. <\/p>\n

The Republicans falsely claim that raising the minimum wage will cost jobs are based solely on their desire to subsidize 0.1% billionaires with YOUR tax dollars.<\/font><\/p>\n

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From Alternet<\/a>: <\/font>Megyn Kelly scoffs at atheist\u2019s claim that the cross is a religious symbol.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Somebody was not paying proper attention in Sunday school, and has been very, very naughty. We\u2019re talking to you, Megyn.<\/p>\n

There is a steel beam cross in the center of the World Trade Center memorial. It was found in the wreckage and seen as a miracle by some Christians. The activist group American Atheists are suing to have the cross removed, claiming that as an inherently religious symbol, it has no place in a publicly funded monument. They point out that people of multiple faiths, and even those without faith at all, died in the disaster.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cross is Christian," said David Silverman of the American Atheists during his appearance on the Kelly Files. "It was installed in a religious service on consecrated ground, which makes it a working shrine on public land in the World Trade Center, and we think the atheists who also died on 9\/11, and the Muslims and the Jews, should all have their equal presence,\u201d <\/p>\n

Nope, Megyn Kelly said. The cross is not religious. It’s just a historical artifact. Nothing Christian about it. Tough luck, atheists, Jews and Muslims.<\/p>\n

Got it, the cross is not Christian. Next week: the Bible, not a book.<\/p>\n

Watch the entire interview posted online by Cruciefiction.<\/a><\/p>\n

This is one of eight statements made by Republican colossal jackasses in just the last week alone. Click through for the other seven.<\/font><\/p>\n

From Bill Moyers<\/a>: <\/font>As the tea party celebrates its fifth birthday this month, Ian Haney L\u00f3pez, author of Dog Whistle Politics<\/em>, talks to Bill about how the movement has used strategic racism to get voters to the polls.<\/p>\n