{"id":14372,"date":"2014-12-25T00:00:13","date_gmt":"2014-12-25T08:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=14372"},"modified":"2014-12-25T00:00:13","modified_gmt":"2014-12-25T08:00:13","slug":"open-thread12252014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2014\/12\/25\/open-thread12252014\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Thread–12\/25\/2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m writing for tomorrow, day 50 and Christmas Day.  I\u2019m waiting for Safeway to deliver groceries and when they arrive, I\u2019ll begin cooking for tomorrow, a complete dinner featuring roast turkey!!  Yum!<\/font><\/p>\n

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

Today’s took me 3:19 (average 5:18).  To do it, click here<\/a>.  How did you do?<\/font><\/p>\n

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

From The Guardian<\/a>: <\/font>Republican congressman Michael Grimm pleaded guilty to one count of felony tax evasion on Tuesday at a federal court in Brooklyn, weeks after he was overwhelmingly re-elected to a third term in Congress. <\/p>\n

Grimm had been hit with a 20-count indictment in April<\/a> over practices at his New York restaurant, Healthalicious. The charges<\/a> included perjury, employing undocumented immigrants and concealing more than $1m in wages and sales.<\/p>\n

May he be the first Republican convicted of many.<\/font><\/p>\n

From CNN<\/a>: <\/font>The first votes of the 2016 campaign won’t be cast for another year but there’s already a race well underway: The Christian primary.<\/p>\n

Republicans are actively courting white evangelical and born again Christian voters, knowing they will be crucial in early-voting states such as Iowa and South Carolina.<\/p>\n

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is urging people to join him next month in Baton Rouge for a day of fasting, repentance and prayer focused on the future of the United States.<\/p>\n

Rachel Maddow provided great coverage of this.<\/font><\/p>\n