{"id":32732,"date":"2018-06-17T12:23:14","date_gmt":"2018-06-17T19:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=32732"},"modified":"2018-06-17T12:23:14","modified_gmt":"2018-06-17T19:23:14","slug":"open-thread-6-17-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2018\/06\/17\/open-thread-6-17-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Thread – 6\/17\/2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

WWWendy is due in an hour to destink the rancid TomCat and help with chores, including the dreaded task.  I’m treating her to Ribs.  Her shiatsus, Oh and Shit, get the bones.  I hope to finish writing by the time she arrives.  She may be a bit late, because Portland Pride is today.  It’s a few blocks away, not under my window, but it does suck up (no pun intended) all the downtown street parking.<\/font><\/p>\n

WWWendy and I worked all morning.  I’m pretty pooped!<\/font><\/p>\n

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

Today’s  took me 4:09 (average 5:11).  To do it, click here<\/a>.  How did you do?<\/font><\/p>\n

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

From NY Magazine<\/a>: <\/font>President Trump is still trying to avoid responsibility for his administration\u2019s brutal policy<\/a> of separating migrant children from their parents at the border, but a new report confirms that Trump and his advisors had been considering the extreme measures for as long as they\u2019ve been in power. According to the New York Times<\/a>, White House senior policy advisor Stephen Miller was \u201cinstrumental\u201d in convincing the president to enact the policy, which applies a zero tolerance approach to prosecuting undocumented immigrants caught entering the U.S. \u2014 even if that means taking children away from their parents in the process.<\/p>\n

I don’t have to tell you that the Republican claim that this is a Democratic policy is a lie. In fact the Republican Reich is setting up a Joe Arpaio style tent city to house kids ripped from their parents<\/a> at the border. RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!<\/font><\/p>\n

From Daily Kos<\/a>: <\/font>On one of the early afternoon shows yesterday on MSNBC, the host had two lawyers on, discussing the Trump Foundation civil charges. One of them was a long time New York attorney, and in just eight words, he described the Trump Presidency absolutely perfectly. He said, "The Trump Presidency is a bust out joint."<\/p>\n

Being born in, and living most of my life in Chicago, I understood him perfectly. For those of you unfamiliar with mob terminology, I’ll briefly explain, and you’ll see what I mean.<\/p>\n

A bust out joint is a legitimate business. One way or another, usually through either extortion, or unpaid loan shark money, the mob moves in and takes over operation of the business. Let’s just say it’s a bar. They go on a spending spree, using the bar’s lines of credit. The buy as much booze as the liquor distributor will give them on credit. They buy glasses, new cash registers, bar stools, anything they can buy on credit, until the place is maxed out. And when the bills come due, they empty the register, back up a truck, load everything into it and disappear. They sell everything as pure profit, and the bar goes belly up.<\/p>\n

The Trump Presidency truly is a classic bust out operation.<\/p>\n

In a word, Amen! RESIST<\/strong>!! VOTE BLUE<\/strong>!!<\/font><\/p>\n

From Nation of Change<\/a>: <\/font>A group of top Democrats are demanding the Trump administration present a plan to Congress to address growing poverty in the United States, following an excoriating report by the United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty, Philip Alston. Alston slammed the Trump administration\u2019s policies for worsening the state of poverty in the United States. The report details how 40 million Americans live in poverty, and 18.5 million Americans live in extreme poverty. It also details how the United States has the highest rate of income inequality among Western countries and one of the lowest rates of intergenerational social mobility. We speak with Philip Alston, the U.N. special rapporteur on extreme poverty. He will be presenting his report next week in Geneva.<\/p>\n

Here’s the video<\/a>:<\/font><\/p>\n