{"id":16652,"date":"2015-10-18T02:41:25","date_gmt":"2015-10-18T09:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=16652"},"modified":"2015-10-18T02:41:25","modified_gmt":"2015-10-18T09:41:25","slug":"squatchs-open-thread-18102015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2015\/10\/18\/squatchs-open-thread-18102015\/","title":{"rendered":"Squatch\u2019s Open Thread 18\/10\/2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well, it is Saturday night and all through the house not a creature is stirring, not even the cats!  That sounds like a somewhat familiar strain! Oh, I know . . . I did a bit of Christmas shopping today and it is rubbing off in my prose.  I hope you are having a great weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n

Puzzle — <\/strong>Today’s took me 2:53 (average 4:56). To do it, <\/span>click here<\/strong><\/span><\/a>. How did you do? For those that don't know, we always do the 48 piece classic.<\/span><\/p>\n

Short Takes<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

Huffington Post<\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/strong>— For the past four years, Texas oil billionaire and corporate raider T. Boone Pickens has been suing the Liberal government in Ontario under NAFTA, arguing he has been the victim of "unfair" backroom deals involving the province’s green energy program.<\/p>\n

A NAFTA tribunal <\/strong><\/span>is expected to rule on Pickens’ $700-million lawsuit this month,The New York Times reported Friday<\/a>, describing the dispute as the 87-year-old tycoon’s “last big battle.” [emphasis mine]<\/p>\n

There is another law suit by Lone Pine Resources, a Calgary company with corporate registration in Delaware, over the Québec government's moratorium on fracking within its jurisdiction.  Lone Pine wants to frack under the St Lawrence River and is suing Canada for $250 million under NAFTA.  Now Pickens!  As the article states, 70% of the law suits under NAFTA are against Canada.  And of course, now countries are looking to approve the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), which is pretty much NAFTA on steroids.  Anybody else see a problem with this.  It feels like good bye to national sovreignty over resources.<\/span><\/p>\n

Think Progress<\/span><\/a> <\/strong>— Two Wisconsin state lawmakers, Rep. Jesse Kremer (R) and Sen. Stephen Nass (R), have introduced legislation<\/a> that would prohibit schools from accommodating transgender students who wish to use restroom and changing room facilities that match their gender. It would also empower anyone who notices a school respecting a transgender student as such to file a complaint and win damages against that school.<\/p>\n

Read the article to get the full flavour of this Republican bigotry.<\/span><\/p>\n

Raw Story<\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/strong>— After interviewing Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Friday, Real Time<\/em> host Bill Maher explained how Republicans misunderstand Sanders almost totally.<\/p>\n

“He’s the one who makes their heads explode when he talks,” Maher said …<\/p>\n