{"id":22562,"date":"2016-06-24T22:22:15","date_gmt":"2016-06-25T05:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=22562"},"modified":"2016-06-24T22:22:15","modified_gmt":"2016-06-25T05:22:15","slug":"squatchs-open-thread-24062016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2016\/06\/24\/squatchs-open-thread-24062016\/","title":{"rendered":"Squatch’s Open Thread 24\/06\/2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

I had a relatively quiet day doing a few loads of laundry.  Lucia called early this morning to cancel our session so time opened up.  The babes <\/span>spent the day <\/font>sleeping and trying to follow me to the laundry in the basement.  They are not allowed down there because they won't help folding and they leave fur all over the clean laundry.  The weekend looks quiet too.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

The New Yorker<\/strong><\/span><\/a> — Across the United Kingdom on Friday, Britons mourned their long-cherished right to claim that Americans were significantly dumber than they are.<\/p>\n

Luxuriating in the superiority of their intellect over Americans’ has long been a favorite pastime in Britain, surpassing in popularity such games as cricket, darts, and snooker.<\/p>\n

But, according to Alistair Dorrinson, a pub owner in North London, British voters have done irreparable damage to the “most enjoyable sport this nation has ever known: namely, treating Americans like idiots.”<\/p>\n

“When our countrymen cast their votes yesterday, they didn’t realize they were destroying the most precious leisure activity this nation has ever known,” he said. “Wankers.”<\/p>\n

In the face of this startling display of national idiocy, Dorrinson still mustered some of the resilience for which the British people are known. “This is a dark day,” he said. “But I hold out hope that, come November, Americans could become dumber than us once more.”<\/p>\n

Oh Andy!  And here I thought that English football (soccer) was the most precious leisure activity.  Although now that I think about it, football is a calling . . . almost a religion!  Let's hope that the final British wish does not come true.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alternet<\/strong><\/span><\/a> — In a stunning and historic move, citizens of the United Kingdom voted Thursday to leave the European Union—a decision colloquially dubbed the "Brexit"—making the U.K. the first country to voluntarily withdraw from the 28-member political and economic bloc.<\/p>\n

The vote is seen as a referendum on globalization, combining the economic impact of EU trade regulations with the fearful refrain about immigration, which, for many pro-Brexiters, is bolstered by the Schengen visa agreement that allows those who have gained entry to an EU member state to move freely among other EU countries. Supporters of the Brexit cited the EU's onerous regulations, dissatisfaction with Britain's recovery after the 2008 recession and concerns over immigrant access to Britain's strained resources as their top reasons for leaving.  …<\/span><\/p>\n

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

For Britons, those perhaps most impacted by the Brexit vote are the people who wanted it the least (a trend paralleled in the United States as young voters overwhelmingly declare<\/font><\/a> their hatred of Trump's nationalistic bloviating). An incredible majority of younger voters opted to stay in the EU. Among 18- to 24-year-olds, 75 percent voted to remain, according to a YouGov poll,<\/font><\/a> as did a majority of voters aged 25 to 49.<\/p>\n