{"id":18412,"date":"2015-12-26T05:09:55","date_gmt":"2015-12-26T13:09:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=18412"},"modified":"2015-12-26T05:09:55","modified_gmt":"2015-12-26T13:09:55","slug":"squatchs-open-thread-25122015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2015\/12\/26\/squatchs-open-thread-25122015\/","title":{"rendered":"Squatch’s Open Thread 25\/12\/2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am sure that today has been hectic for most . . . family, children running about, Christmas dinner or other festivities. I had Christmas dinner Thursday night with friends, and I contributed yams baked in olive oil and honey with generous amounts of ginger and a bit of garlic but absolutely no salt.  Today, I had a slow start but then in the afternoon headed out to see my mother.  Staff were having a potluck dinner and I was invited to share the bounty.  It was good to share a delicious meal with the people that look after my mother so well.  I hope your day was equally enjoyable.<\/span><\/p>\n

Puzzle<\/strong> — Today’s took me 2:51 (average 4:54). To do it, <\/span>click here<\/strong><\/span><\/a>. How did you do?<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Alternet <\/strong>— <\/span>Outsourcing to these 1099 workers has become the preferred method for America’s business leaders to cut costs and maximize profits. This is only the beginning; we have yet to see how these trends will affect the labor force over the next decade or so. But already we can see that the so-called “new” economy looks an awful lot like the old, pre-New Deal economy. “Jobs” amount to a series of low-paid piece work – they’re called micro-gigs today—offering little empowerment for average workers, families or communities. We’re losing decades of progress, apparently for no other reason than because these on-demand companies conduct their business over the Internet and apps, somehow that makes them “special.” Technology has been granted a privileged and indulged place where the usual rules, laws and policies often are not applied.<\/p>\n

The work requirements were changing at the end of my career, and not necessarily for the better, moving towards this new idea.  Will this "sharing" economy continue?  I don't know but I do think it will kill the idea of the American dream which of course Republicans will continue to tout as achievable if one works hard.  The new way almost sounds like indentured servitude.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mother Jones<\/strong><\/span><\/a> — Climate change will have some pretty terrifying consequences. Experts have predicted everything from deadly heat waves and devastating floods to falling crop production and even increased political instability and violence. But according to some of the world's biggest companies, these future disasters could also present lucrative business opportunities.<\/p>\n

In a remarkable series of documents<\/a> <\/strong>submitted to a London-based nonprofit called CDP, big-name corporations describe global warming as a chance to sell more weapons systems to the military, more air conditioners to sweltering civilians, and more medications to people afflicted by tropical diseases. CDP, which stands for "Carbon Disclosure Project," asks companies all over the world to disclose information about their greenhouse gas emissions and how the changing climate will impact their operations. Each year, thousands of companies send in responses. Below, we've compiled a list of some of the most striking—and, in some cases, disturbing—scenarios laid out by those businesses.<\/p>\n

In my mind, climate change and global warming are huge challenges to the world as we know it.  The human need for survival is paramount.  If that survival is in doubt anywhere, people will rise up.  With economies the way they are, who will be able to afford these "fixes"?  Click through for the rest of the details.<\/span><\/p>\n

Think Progress<\/strong><\/span><\/a> — A National Rifle Association lawsuit seeking to immunize gun dealers from a recently enacted tax was rejected by a state trial court on Tuesday<\/a>. If Judge Palmer Robinson’s decision is ultimately upheld on appeal, the tax will fund gun safety research as well as programs seeking to prevent gun violence<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last August, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray (D) signed an ordinance providing for a $25 tax on each gun and a 2 to 5 cent tax on each round of ammunition sold within the city. The NRA, along with several other pro-gun groups and individuals, sued, claiming that the law violates a Washington State law<\/a> preventing municipal governments from enacting any “regulation” of guns. As Judge Robinson explains in his opinion, however, the power to tax is separate from the power to regulate. Among other things, he notes, the ordinance does not “place any burden or restriction” on gun dealers beyond the obligation to pay the tax.<\/p>\n

Personally, I hope that Judge Palmer Robinson’s decision is upheld.  It is a start.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

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

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I am sure that today has been hectic for most . . . family, children running about, Christmas dinner or other festivities. I had Christmas dinner Thursday night with friends, and I contributed yams baked in olive oil and honey with generous amounts of ginger and a bit of garlic but absolutely no salt.  Today, […]<\/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-18412","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\/18412","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=18412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18412\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}