{"id":16668,"date":"2015-10-26T13:05:01","date_gmt":"2015-10-26T20:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=16668"},"modified":"2015-10-26T13:05:01","modified_gmt":"2015-10-26T20:05:01","slug":"squatchs-open-thread-26102015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2015\/10\/26\/squatchs-open-thread-26102015\/","title":{"rendered":"Squatch\u2019s Open Thread 26\/10\/2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have done a lot of sleeping and resting since Thursday last week, yet still I am miserable and spend most of the days sleeping when I can.  It is day 5 and although I am still miserable, I think so far Sunday was worse, so maybe I've turned the corner . . . maybe.  Nameless, you know him as SoINeedAName, dear friend that he is, is bringing you tomorrow's Open Thread.  I very much appreciate him for this.  Virtual hugs dude!<\/span><\/p>\n

Puzzle — <\/strong>Today’s took me 3:05 (average 4:45). 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

Alternet<\/strong><\/span><\/a> — Chomsky described how Republicans gravitated toward an increasingly radical base in the 1980s and '90s. <\/p>\n

"[Republicans] became so dedicated to the interests of the extreme wealthy and powerful that they couldn't get votes. So they had to turn to other constituencies, which were always there but were never politically mobilized. So they turned to Christian evangelicals, the nativists who are afraid they're taking our country away from us. People who are so terrified they have to carry a gun in a coffee shop."<\/p>\n