{"id":21646,"date":"2016-05-05T13:27:58","date_gmt":"2016-05-05T20:27:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=21646"},"modified":"2016-05-05T13:27:58","modified_gmt":"2016-05-05T20:27:58","slug":"open-thread-552016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2016\/05\/05\/open-thread-552016\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Thread–5\/5\/2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/sub><\/sub><\/sub><\/sub>I have another late start today,<\/sub>because I needed a morning nap.  Someone on my floor left the water running in one of the showers.  Somehow the concentration of steam set off the fire alarm, and I had to get up, get dressed, and prepare <\/sub><\/sub><\/sub>to be evacuated in the middle of the night.  Tomorrow afternoon I have an appointment with Sarah, my Prosthetist.  George has forgiven me, because he\u2019s getting a shiny new ankle, but I may not have time for research and writing, before I have to leave.<\/font><\/p>\n

Jig Zone Puzzle<\/strong>:<\/font><\/p>\n

Today\u2019s took me 3:14 (average 4:37).  To do it, click here<\/a>.  How did you do?<\/font><\/p>\n

Short Takes<\/strong>:<\/font><\/p>\n

From Daily Kos<\/a>: <\/font>So this evening the GOP lizard brains at the Arizona legislature refused to renew<\/a> a program called KidsCare<\/a>. It\u2019s a small agency that provides vital services to at least 30,000 children. It costs the state nothing to operate the federally-funded program, which provides low-income families affordable medical, dental and vision insurance for children under 19. For $50 a month a child is insured. Every other friggin\u2019 state in the country has one, because it costs those states nothing and it does good things.<\/p>\n

I can see why it wouldn\u2019t fly in Arizona.<\/p>\n

These monsters just passed another $8 million tax cut for businesses, when the previous $4 billion<\/a> in corporate BJs hasn\u2019t resulted in the \u201ccreative\u201d growth they promised, unless you count call centers and Walmarts. Hey, GOP brain trust: Google didn\u2019t pass on Arizona because the taxes are too high; they said adios because there\u2019s no political commitment to education.<\/p>\n

Or the welfare of children, apparently<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

The cost of [KidsCare] is covered by federal dollars at least through 2017 and possibly through 2019. <\/p>\n

Gov. Doug Ducey had been non-committal on restoring KidsCare. But he has not been a fan of accepting federal dollars for health insurance.<\/p>\n

In his 2014 run for governor, Ducey questioned the financial viability of the Medicaid program. As governor, he introduced a Medicaid reform plan that would kick 350,000 people off the rolls.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Can you even begin to wrap your head around that pile of diarrhetic [sic<\/em>] thinking?<\/p>\n

Is it time to rename Brewerstan as Duceystan? The Brewerstan Death Angel, Jan Brewer, refused free federal benefits and cancelled the surgeries already scheduled for transplant patients, causing several to die. This is life under a Republican Reich, and for evil, neither Brewer, nor Ducey can hold a candle to Rump Dump Trump!<\/font><\/p>\n

From The New Yorker<\/a>: <\/font>The United States Senate declared an official day of mourning on Wednesday to mark the impending return of Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to the legislative body.<\/p>\n

Ordering all flags at the U.S. Capitol to half-staff, the Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, announced the day of mourning in a somber proclamation. \u201cWe mark this day with a deep personal sense of loss that will never completely heal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

To recognize Cruz\u2019s return, which is expected to be imminent, McConnell said that the Senate would suspend all work for the day. \u201cOrdinarily our members would welcome a day off,\u201d he said. \u201cBut not for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a rare moment of consensus for this bitterly divided chamber, both Republicans and Democrats expressed their sorrow, but the news of Cruz\u2019s return seemed to cut the deepest among Republicans, many of whom now regret their decision not to endorse the Texas senator for President.<\/p>\n

It looks like Andy is doing straight news again.<\/font><\/p>\n

From Alternet<\/a>: <\/font>Donald Trump gave what some saw as an oddly \u201cpresidential\u201d speech upon winning Indiana, in which he actually called for more love and applauded former nemesis Ted Cruz, for making the race competitive. \u201cWe\u2019re going to cherish each other, we\u2019re going to take care of each other,\u201d Trump told the crowd in New York late Tuesday. Never mind that earlier in the day he had floated the baseless claim that Cruz’ father was involved in the Kennedy assassination.<\/p>\n

Stephen Colbert opined that Trump’s weird commends were, \u201cBasically all the things you do when you think the world is going to end,\u201d and Trump didn\u2019t end the meaningless promises with spreading "love" around.<\/p>\n