{"id":14541,"date":"2015-01-19T00:08:08","date_gmt":"2015-01-19T08:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=14541"},"modified":"2015-01-19T00:08:08","modified_gmt":"2015-01-19T08:08:08","slug":"open-thread1192015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2015\/01\/19\/open-thread1192015\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Thread–1\/19\/2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m writing for tomorrow, day 75.  I\u2019m still pretty pooped after yesterday\u2019s cleaning jag, but I can rest while meditating on the Ellipsoid Orb, during this High Holy Day.  I think I\u2019ll cheer for the Packers to get back at the damn Seachickens for all the Broncos games that weren\u2019t televised here because of them.<\/font><\/p>\n

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

Today\u2019s took me 2:53 (average 4:34).  To do it, click here<\/a>.  How did you do?<\/font><\/p>\n

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

From NY Times<\/a>: <\/font>President Obama will use his State of the Union address to call on Congress to raise taxes and fees on the wealthiest taxpayers and the largest financial firms to finance an array of tax cuts for the middle class, pressing to reshape the tax code to help working families, administration officials said on Saturday.<\/p>\n

This has about as much chance to pass, as there is that Agent Orange will give up his Jameson. What Obama is doing here is providing an example of how to act like Democrats for Democrats.<\/font><\/p>\n

From Kansas City Star<\/a>: <\/font>…Instead [of telling the hard truth], in the governor\u2019s [Brownback] \u201cit\u2019s always sunny in Kansas\u201d scenario: <\/p>\n

\u25aa Tax cuts are not leading to massive revenue shortfalls (but they are).<\/p>\n

\u25aa The state should continue its march to a zero income tax (never mind those pesky revenue woes).<\/p>\n

\u25aa The tax cuts are leading to tremendous private-sector job growth (but most states are actually growing at faster rates than Kansas).<\/p>\n

\u25aa Funding for K-12 schools is a major cause of Kansas\u2019 budget problems (but it\u2019s really not).<\/p>\n

\u25aa The school funding formula must be radically changed (but the governor can\u2019t tell you how).<\/p>\n

\u25aa Giving him near-control of the State Supreme Court appointments would be a great idea (yikes).<\/p>\n

\u25aa God is helping guide him and other elected leaders as he helps Kansas through this mess (how delusional).<\/p>\n

The "god", who is guiding Brownback in this is Supply-side Jesus, the polar opposite of the real Jesus. Supply-side Jesus is an invention of the Republican base to justify their hatred, greed, lies, and lust for power. If Supply-side Jesus were real, he would have cloven hooves and carry a pitchfork. The people who deserve this most of all are the Democrats, who stayed home on election day.<\/font><\/p>\n

From Washington Post<\/a>: <\/font>Sen. Elizabeth Warren has an explanation for the singular nature of her power. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll always be an outsider. That\u2019s how I understand the world<\/strong>,\u201d the Massachusetts Democrat said in an interview. \u201cThere\u2019s a real benefit to being clear about this. I know why I\u2019m here. I think about this every morning before I open my eyes, and I\u2019m still thinking about it every night when I go to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being the target of that kind of focus can be an excruciating experience \u2014 the freshest case in point being investment banker Antonio Weiss, whom President Obama put forward last year as his nominee for Treasury undersecretary for domestic finance. <\/p>\n

Initially seen as a highly credentialed and noncontroversial pick for a low-profile post, Weiss found himself up against a storm of opposition, led by Warren, who said he was yet another example of Wall Street cronyism within the Obama administration. <\/p>\n

On Monday, Weiss wrote a letter to the president asking that his name be taken out of consideration<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The tussle sent yet another signal, maybe the clearest yet, of how Warren intends to wield her growing clout. It showed that she and her brand of populism are forces to be reckoned with \u2014 not only by Obama and his team, but also by the Democrats\u2019 likely 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton. [emphasis added<\/em>]<\/p>\n

What can I say? I \"Red Liz!!<\/font><\/p>\n

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

\"0119Cartoon\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m writing for tomorrow, day 75.  I\u2019m still pretty pooped after yesterday\u2019s cleaning jag, but I can rest while meditating on the Ellipsoid Orb, during this High Holy Day.  I think I\u2019ll cheer for the Packers to get back at the damn Seachickens for all the Broncos games that weren\u2019t televised here because of them. […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,3,5,47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-open-thread","category-personal","category-politics","category-religion","category-35-id","category-3-id","category-5-id","category-47-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14541","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=14541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14541\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}