{"id":14434,"date":"2015-01-03T00:00:27","date_gmt":"2015-01-03T08:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=14434"},"modified":"2015-01-03T00:00:27","modified_gmt":"2015-01-03T08:00:27","slug":"open-thread132015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2015\/01\/03\/open-thread132015\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Thread–1\/3\/2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m writing for tomorrow, day 59.  Please excuse my brevity.  I have a very busy day.<\/font><\/p>\n

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

Today\u2019s took me 3:15: (average 5:35).  To do it, click here<\/a>.  How did you do?<\/font><\/p>\n

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

From PRWatch<\/a>: <\/font>Today, as announced on Amy Goodman’s DemocracyNow!<\/a>, the Progressive Inc. and the Center for Media and Democracy are publishing new information and analysis documenting that billionaire oil industrialist Charles Koch was an active member of the controversial right-wing John Birch Society during its active campaigns against the civil rights movement.<\/p>\n

Many commentators have noted that the father of the controversial Koch Brothers, Fred Koch, was a leader of the John Birch Society from its founding in 1958 until his death in 1967. But, in fact, Charles Koch followed his father’s footsteps into the John Birch Society for years in Wichita, Kansas, a hub city for the organization in that decade of tremendous societal unrest as civil rights activists challenged racial segregation.<\/p>\n

Charles Koch was not simply a rank and file member of the John Birch Society in name only who paid nominal dues. He purchased and held a "lifetime membership" until he resigned in 1968. He also lent his name and his wealth to the operations of the John Birch Society in Wichita, aiding its "American Opinion" bookstore — which was stocked with attacks on the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King, and Earl Warren as elements of the communist conspiracy. He funded the John Birch Society’s promotional campaigns, bought advertising in its magazine, and supported its distribution of right-wing radio shows.<\/p>\n

When someone sucks nevermind<\/em>, they are really chewing Birch.<\/font><\/p>\n

From The New Yorker<\/a>: <\/font>In the strongest sign to date that he intends to seek the 2016 Republican Presidential nomination, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has officially resigned his position as George W. Bush\u2019s brother.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo longer being related to his brother is a key step to clearing Jeb\u2019s path to the nomination,\u201d an aide said on New Year\u2019s Day. \u201cWe expect his poll numbers to soar on this.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the aide, the former Florida governor resigned his post as brother in a ten-minute phone call with George W. Bush, after which he blocked the former President\u2019s phone number and e-mail address.<\/p>\n

LOL Andy!! I bet he wishes he could.<\/font><\/p>\n

From NY Times<\/a>: <\/font>The police chief of an Atlanta suburb shot his wife early on New Year\u2019s Day, telling 911 operators that it was an accident, officials said. The victim, Margaret McCollom, 58, was in critical condition, and the chief, William E. McCollom, was placed on administrative leave.<\/p>\n

Chief McCollom of Peachtree City called 911 shortly after 4 a.m. to report the shooting, Lt. Mark Brown of the Peachtree City Police Department said at a news conference Thursday afternoon. Margaret McCollom was airlifted to the Atlanta Medical Center. No arrests have been made.<\/p>\n

Perhaps his gun handling reflects a standard Republican level of incompetence. On the other hand, perhaps she insisted on wearing shoes.<\/font><\/p>\n

Cartoon<\/strong>:<\/font><\/p>\n

\"0103Cartoon\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m writing for tomorrow, day 59.  Please excuse my brevity.  I have a very busy day. Jig Zone Puzzle: Today\u2019s took me 3:15: (average 5:35).  To do it, click here.  How did you do? Short Takes: From PRWatch: Today, as announced on Amy Goodman’s DemocracyNow!, the Progressive Inc. and the Center for Media and Democracy […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,3,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-open-thread","category-personal","category-politics","category-35-id","category-3-id","category-5-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14434\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}