{"id":23307,"date":"2016-08-02T12:25:32","date_gmt":"2016-08-02T19:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=23307"},"modified":"2016-08-02T12:25:32","modified_gmt":"2016-08-02T19:25:32","slug":"open-thread-822016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2016\/08\/02\/open-thread-822016\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Thread – 8\/2\/2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday’s appointment with my Ocular Oncologist went well.  The eye is healing nicely,but has a propensity to wander.  She set me up with an double vision specialist in October.  In the meantime, I’m getting a magnifying headband.  By the time Wendy was done, I was exhausted and went to bed.  This morning I have spent most of it dealing with another bogus bill from my identity theft when I was in the hospital for three months last fall, scheduling appointments with four different doctors, arranging for my next volunteer session in the prison in October, helping to facilitate interaction with prisoners and victims, scheduling a meeting next with prison volunteer workers, figuring out why my cell phone stopped ringing and fixing it, and dealing with a site issue.  Dang!!  Talk about two pounds of poop in a one pound bag!  This is today’s only article, and I won’t be sending links messages, because I just half to get the Monthly Report done.<\/font><\/p>\n

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

Jig Zone did not send a daily puzzle today, so I just picked one for you. It took me 3:49 (average 4:51).  To do it, click here<\/a>. How did you do?<\/font><\/p>\n

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

From NY Times<\/a>: <\/font>Back in 1968, at the age of 22, Donald J. Trump seemed the picture of health.<\/p>\n

He stood 6 feet 2 inches with an athletic build; had played football, tennis and squash; and was taking up golf. His medical history was unblemished, aside from a routine appendectomy when he was 10.<\/p>\n

But after he graduated from college in the spring of 1968, making him eligible to be drafted and sent to Vietnam, he received a diagnosis that would change his path: bone spurs in his heels.<\/p>\n

The diagnosis resulted in a coveted 1-Y medical deferment that fall, exempting him from military service as the United States was undertaking huge troop deployments to Southeast Asia, inducting about 300,000 men into the military that year.<\/p>\n

The deferment was one of five Mr. Trump received during Vietnam. The others were for education.<\/p>\n

Oh, the agony of da feet!<\/font><\/p>\n

From The New Yorker<\/a>: <\/font>After stumbling badly on an interview question about Ukraine, the Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump attempted on Tuesday to reassure voters about his geopolitical expertise by adding the retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and the former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to his team of foreign-policy advisers.<\/p>\n

\u201cDonald Trump always said that, as President, he would surround himself with the best people,\u201d Trump\u2019s spokesperson, Hope Hicks, said. \u201cIn Governor Palin and Dr. Carson, Mr. Trump now has the Dream Team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking to reporters, Palin dismissed the controversy over Ukraine as \u201cmuch ado about a gotcha question.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Carson said that, as President, Donald Trump would support the territorial integrity of Ukraine and \u201cits magnificent network of underground grain tunnels.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andy, it’s getting really bad when your satire is less jaw-dropping that the truth.<\/font><\/p>\n

From KP Daily Funnies<\/a>: <\/font>"3 a.m." The Simpsons, august 2, 2016 <\/p>\n