{"id":21146,"date":"2016-04-12T03:18:23","date_gmt":"2016-04-12T10:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=21146"},"modified":"2016-04-12T03:18:23","modified_gmt":"2016-04-12T10:18:23","slug":"squatchs-open-thread-09042016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2016\/04\/12\/squatchs-open-thread-09042016\/","title":{"rendered":"Squatch’s Open Thread 09\/04\/2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week is very busy again.  I have at least one event every day, but usually more.  I am trying to ready myself for the Alzheimer's Walk for Memories and raising money for research and programmes.  As in the US, it is tax preparation time so that is on my list to do.  And of course there is spring cleaning . . . always spring cleaning no matter what season it is!<\/span><\/p>\n

Short Takes <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Politico<\/span><\/a><\/strong> <\/strong>— <\/span>Dispirited over a Republican Party primary that has devolved into an ugly, damaging fight, some of the GOP’s biggest financiers are reevaluating whether to invest in the 2016 presidential contest at all.<\/p>\n

Among those on the sidelines: Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino mogul who hosted the Republican Jewish Coalition’s spring meeting at his Venetian hotel this weekend. His apparent ambivalence about 2016 was shared by many RJC members here. With grave doubts about the viability of the few remaining Republican contenders, many of these Republican donors have decided to sit out the rest of the primary entirely. And while some are reluctantly getting behind a remaining candidate, others are shifting their attention to congressional contests.  …<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The jewish community and @RJC<\/a> honoring the great prime minister of Canada Stephen Harper – great friend of Israel<\/span><\/p>\n

Photo from Huffington Post<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

While the RJC spring meeting is traditionally a celebration of Adelson, with politicians of all stripes venturing to the Venetian to pay homage, this year’s was different.<\/p>\n

On Thursday evening, Adelson hosted some of the organization’s top officials at his palatial mansion. While former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper discussed how fractured parties can unite, Adelson listened but said little, according to three people who were present. And on Friday, rather than preside over the deliberations, Adelson and his wife, Miriam, departed for a wedding.<\/p>\n

The lack of interest is partly rooted in exhaustion. After watching many of the party’s establishment prospects — from Scott Walker to Marco Rubio — go up in flames, many top donors say they’ve simply grown tired of opening their wallets. Some here have given to multiple candidates, only to watch them suffer defeat.<\/p>\n

And you thought Canada was nasty refusing to take Cruz back!  Now Adelson is importing Canada's Republican demagogue, Stephen Harper.<\/span><\/p>\n

Think Progress<\/strong><\/span><\/a> — Nearly a week after pipeline operator TransCanada shut down a section of its Keystone line over an oil leak<\/a>, the company reported Thursday thousands of gallons of oil were spilled, not less than 200 as it first said.  …<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

After the spill was reported earlier this week, environmental groups said Keystone’s spill proves the threat that the Keystone XL expansion would have posed. They also noted that the Keystone pipeline, approved by President George W. Bush in 2008, leaked oil 12 times in its first year of operation<\/strong><\/em>. “TransCanada’s Keystone I disaster is a stark reminder that it’s not a question if a pipeline will malfunction, but rather a question of when. This is one of the reasons President Obama rejected the Keystone XL pipeline and it’s why he should reject all dangerous fossil fuel pipeline proposals,” Sierra Club’s Executive Director Michael Brune said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Oil transportation largely relies on trains and pipelines. Out of those two, pipelines spill more often than trains, yet train accidents can be deadlier as trains are more likely to explode. U.S. pipelines spilled three times as much crude oil as trains over the period of 2004 to 2012, …<\/p>\n

And Trans Canada thinks it is their right to pollute with impunity?  I hope its lawsuit in federal court and their NAFTA challenge fail miserably.<\/span><\/p>\n

Raw Story<\/strong><\/span><\/a> — <\/span>Bill O’Reilly questioned Donald Trump’s ability to provide jobs in African-American communities during an interview on Monday by painting black Americans as being ill-equipped for the labor force.<\/p>\n

“How are you going to get jobs for them?” O’Reilly asked. “Many of them are ill-educated and have tattoos on their foreheads, and I hate to be generalized about it but it’s true. If you look at all the educational statistics, how are you going to give jobs to people who aren’t qualified for jobs?”<\/p>\n

Barf Bag Alert!     Barf Bag Alert!     Barf Bag Alert!     <\/strong>Barf Bag Alert!     <\/strong>Barf Bag Alert!     <\/strong><\/span>Barf Bag Alert! <\/span>    <\/strong><\/p>\n