{"id":15175,"date":"2015-05-04T13:17:17","date_gmt":"2015-05-04T20:17:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=15175"},"modified":"2015-05-04T13:17:17","modified_gmt":"2015-05-04T20:17:17","slug":"open-thread542015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2015\/05\/04\/open-thread542015\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Thread–5\/4\/2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

Would you believe me if I told you that I\u2019m still completely swamped with tasks?<\/font><\/p>\n

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

Today\u2019s took me 3:06 (average 5:00).  To do it, click here<\/a>.  How did you do?<\/font><\/p>\n

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

From Upworthy<\/a>: <\/font>Have you ever heard of the West Virginia mine wars?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Maybe they were mentioned in your high school history class, or maybe they were skimmed over, or even left out entirely for one reason or another. Too often, these stories are deemed not "important" enough to warrant the time and attention they deserve. <\/p>\n

But the West Virginia mine wars are critical to understanding the history of the labor movement in the U.S. \u2014 and soon a new museum<\/a> will be open to tell the story. <\/p>\n

The Battle of Blair Mountain, for example, was \u2014 and still is \u2014 the most violent labor confrontation in history, in which union-supporting coal miners fought against local government and a coal company-funded militia, eventually involving the U.S. Army. <\/p>\n