{"id":18007,"date":"2015-12-16T00:39:59","date_gmt":"2015-12-16T08:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=18007"},"modified":"2015-12-16T00:39:59","modified_gmt":"2015-12-16T08:39:59","slug":"squatchs-open-thread-15122015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2015\/12\/16\/squatchs-open-thread-15122015\/","title":{"rendered":"Squatch\u2019s Open Thread 15\/12\/2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

The specter of a few snowflurries still hangs in the air tonight (Tuesday), but the weatherperson has promised some sunshine for tomorrow before it starts to rain again.  Today it rained hard and I got soaked again just walking from car to lab and back.  After that, I spent most of the day in bed resting until I remembered that I had not finished this post.<\/span><\/p>\n

Puzzle<\/strong> — Today’s took me 3:06 (average 5:26). To do it, <\/span>click here<\/strong><\/span><\/a>. How did you do?<\/span><\/p>\n

Fantasy Football<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Just 3 more weeks of Fantasy Football left for the 2015 season.  The playoffs are here.  I've often wondered how the match ups are determined, or perhaps why they are done as they are.  For example, #1 Monster Mashers is paired with #8 TomCat Teabag Trashers, and #2 BALCO Bombers is paired with #7 Purple Demon.  Enquiring minds want to know!<\/span><\/p>\n

I think I am about to have my Size 9's stomped by a Lefty Hillbilly!  Have fun everyone! <\/span><\/p>\n

Short Takes<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Huffington Post<\/strong><\/span><\/a> — A U.S. presidential candidate has called for troops to be positioned along the Canadian border, as the American election becomes consumed by national-security fears.<\/p>\n

Republican Ben Carson says he wants soldiers and national guard stationed along the Mexican border — and at certain unspecified spots along the Canadian border.<\/p>\n

It's one of his Seven Steps to a Safer America, released Tuesday. <\/p>\n

So much for the longest undefended border!  That said, there are armed border patrols at various points.  Paranoia certainly runs deep in the US, and as the author noted "…<\/span>one security expert who cited the growing number of hijabs he saw in Canada."  Between Trump and Carson, I don't know who is the bigger fruitcake.<\/span><\/p>\n

T<\/span><\/a><\/strong>hink Progress<\/strong><\/span><\/a> — The United States Army is temporarily allowing a Sikh soldier to grow a beard and wear a turban while serving, a dramatic shift that could usher in a new era of religious accommodation for Sikhs serving in the U.S. military.<\/p>\n

\"us<\/a><\/p>\n

Last Wednesday, the Army announced in a letter<\/a> it would grant a religious exception to Simratpal Singh, a decorated Afghanistan veteran and graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, temporarily allowing him to grow a beard and wrap his hair in a turban. Singh, a Sikh soldier who had been previously forced to shave his hair and beard, will be able to grow and publicly display both during the month-long trial period.<\/p>\n

To me, this is a step forward in a country that has many people unwilling to accept such accommodations.  This is partly what feedom of religion looks like.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alternet<\/span><\/a><\/strong> — <\/span>Reacting to news that a New York judge — who is a practicing Muslim — took her oath of office using the Koran, commenters flooded a Facebook announcement, calling it an “abomination” and saying she should be arrested.<\/p>\n

Following her election last month, Carolyn Walker-Diallo was sworn in as a civil judge for the 7th Municipal District in a Brooklyn Borough hall last Thursday. She chose to take her oath using a Koran instead of a Bible.<\/p>\n

My first reaction to this was "this is how it should be".  Given that Walker-Diallo is a practising Muslim, an oath on a Bible would be meaningless.  While she swore to support the Constitution, perhaps all judges should swear their oaths on the Constitution rather than a religious book.  After all, <\/span>Article VI, paragraph 3<\/span><\/a><\/strong> of the Constitution states:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

My Universe<\/strong><\/span> —<\/p>\n

\"http:\/\/smashingtops.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/cat-sleeping-on-face.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Thank goodness that is not me with one of my cats!  My smallest is 10 kg (22 lbs).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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

The specter of a few snowflurries still hangs in the air tonight (Tuesday), but the weatherperson has promised some sunshine for tomorrow before it starts to rain again.  Today it rained hard and I got soaked again just walking from car to lab and back.  After that, I spent most of the day in bed […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-open-thread","category-politics","category-35-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\/18007","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\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18007\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}