{"id":12444,"date":"2014-03-28T00:02:20","date_gmt":"2014-03-28T07:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=12444"},"modified":"2014-03-28T00:02:20","modified_gmt":"2014-03-28T07:02:20","slug":"open-thread3282014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2014\/03\/28\/open-thread3282014\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Thread–3\/28\/2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m writing for tomorrow very early in the morning, before leaving for prison volunteer work, so these articles will be ready for me to post some time tomorrow morning. <\/font><\/p>\n

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

Today\u2019s took me 4:40 (average 5:15).  To do it, click here<\/a>.  How did you do?<\/font><\/p>\n

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

From Daily Kos<\/a>: <\/font>I went to the doctor for the first time in five years today. Although I’m young, I had neglected a couple of health issues for at least a year. I couldn’t afford care and was left hoping none of them developed into anything more serious. As a small business owner who narrowly missed the threshold for buying on the exchanges, I’m enrolled in Medicaid for this year until I can bump my income up a bit. The day my confirmation of benefits and card came was among the best of my life. I nearly broke down in tears.<\/p>\n

But that isn’t what this diary is about. Today, I went to the doctor for the first time in five years and saw first hand why Republicans have fought tooth and nail for a system that was so broken for every single stakeholder – except the insurers and the politicians who enable them.<\/p>\n

What I found made my blood boil. Follow below the fold for a living example of what our "health care system" could have done to me and millions of others before the ACA. Let’s just say the cheesy poof holding the fold would have been more than the food in my pantry.<\/p>\n

Click through for a most excellent read. Like the author says in the last sentence, lets go to work.<\/font><\/p>\n

From Alternet<\/a>: <\/font>Eight-year-old Sunnie Kahle\u2019s family says that she has never had any disciplinary problems. They say that as a student at Virginia\u2019s Timberlake Christian School she has maintained a 4.0 academic average. School administrators confirm this. But Kahle\u2019s great-grandmother and legal guardian Doris Thompson says that the child was nonetheless recently invited to leave the school anyway. Why? Because she\u2019s not feminine enough.<\/a><\/p>\n

Sunnie has short hair, a style she first adopted when she turned five and declared she wanted to donate her long locks for kids with cancer. Since then, she\u2019s preferred jeans and t-shirts and has decided, Thompson says, \u201cShe didn\u2019t want to wear her frilly dresses anymore.\u201d Today, she likes teddy bears and bracelets \u2014 as well as collecting autographed baseballs and playing \u201crough and tough.<\/a> And sadly, in a world in which the pressure on little girls and boys to conform to rigid gender roles is more ramped up than ever<\/a> and eschewing pink is somehow suspect, Sunnie\u2019s style would likely be questioned almost anywhere. (And yes, I am saying this as a parent whose daughters have attended hippy-dippy New York City public schools.) But in a strictly conservative environment, her demeanor could be interpreted as tantamount to revolution. Last month the school sent home a letter, which has been obtained by local news station WDBJ7, reminding Sunnie\u2019s caregivers of its right to decline students who do not follow a \u201cbiblical lifestyle.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

When Republicans push for school vouchers, they are demanding that YOU pay for this kind of illegal discrimination with your tax dollars.<\/font><\/p>\n

From Crooks and Liars<\/a>: <\/font><\/p>\n

The GOP says they pride themselves on fiscal responsibility, but they have been exposed as frauds because a Pentagon report said they’ve wasted millions and millions of dollars on the trumped up Benghazi investigations. <\/p>\n

If you ever hear Rep. Darrell Issa say he’s a fiscal conservative, just laugh in his face and ask him how can he then explain wasting millions of dollars of taxpayers money on repetitive and wasteful hearings on Benghazi? Not only has he spent millions like a drunken sailor, but they’ve also put a huge strain on our military. [BARF BAG ALERT!<\/font><\/strong>]<\/p>\n