{"id":34214,"date":"2018-11-20T17:01:01","date_gmt":"2018-11-21T01:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=34214"},"modified":"2018-11-20T18:41:18","modified_gmt":"2018-11-21T02:41:18","slug":"squatchs-open-thread-20-november-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2018\/11\/20\/squatchs-open-thread-20-november-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Squatch’s Open Thread 20 November 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have not heard from TomCat so I am assuming he is still very sick.\u00a0 I do hope he has called the doctor and doing what he needs to do to get better.\u00a0 This year’s cold\/flu is ugly!\u00a0 If he is away tomorrow too, I’ll put up an Open Thread but it will be late as I have physiotherapy and a podiatrist appointment, all routine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jig Zone Puzzle<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Today\u2019s took me (Squatch) 4:19 (average 4:58).\u00a0 To do it, click here<\/a>.\u00a0 (This link will automatically open to a new page.) How did you do?\u00a0 With any luck, the Puddy Tat won’t do the puzzle and the butterfly won’t be eaten!<\/span><\/p>\n

Washington Post<\/strong><\/span><\/a> —\u00a0Gun-carrying civilian groups and border vigilantes have heard a call to arms in President Trump\u2019s warnings about threats to American security posed by caravans of Central American migrants moving through Mexico. They\u2019re packing coolers and tents, oiling rifles and tuning up aerial drones, with plans to form caravans of their own and trail American troops to the border.\u00a0 …<\/p>\n

McGauley and others have been roused by the president\u2019s call to restore order and defend the country against what Trump has called \u201can invasion,\u201d<\/strong> [emphasis added] as thousands of Central American migrants advance slowly through southern Mexico toward the U.S. border. Trump has insisted that \u201cunknown Middle Easterners,\u201d \u201cvery tough fighters,\u201d and large numbers of violent criminals<\/a> are traveling among the women, children and families heading north on foot.\u00a0 …<\/p>\n

According to military planning documents obtained by Newsweek, the military is concerned about the arrival of \u201cunregulated militia members self-deploying to the border in alleged support\u201d of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. …<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe militia just needs to stay where they are,\u201d said Metz [80 year old rancher], a Republican. \u201cWe don\u2019t need fanatical people. We don\u2019t need anybody here with guns. Why do they have guns? I have dealt with illegals for 30 years, and all of them have been scared, asking for help. The militias need to stay up north where they belong. We have no use for them here. They might shoot someone or hurt someone<\/strong>.\u201d [emphasis added]<\/span><\/p>\n

I certainly cannot argue with Metz.\u00a0 The 2nd amendment to the US Constitution reads:\u00a0A well regulated militia<\/strong> being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. [emphasis mine].\u00a0 These militias are not regulated by any stretch of the imagination and are not accountable to any state authority.\u00a0 The 2nd amendment, which the militias hide behind, was written at a time when there was no army, no state police etc.\u00a0 People had to come together for protection.\u00a0 As Metz said, “They might shoot someone or hurt someone<\/strong>.”<\/span><\/p>\n

AlterNe<\/span>t <\/strong><\/a>— As President Donald Trump’s egregiously disrespectful attitude toward members of the <\/span>military<\/a> has come under closer scrutiny, he has received an increasing amount of criticism for never having visited service members who serve overseas in dangers combat zones. <\/span>…<\/p>\n

A new report from the Washington Post reveals that Trump’s<\/a> hesitancy is due to a very predictable reason: fear.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe\u2019s never been interested in going,\u201d one\u00a0anonymous official told the post, referring to conversations directly with Trump. “He’s afraid of those situations. He\u2019s afraid people want to kill him.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
I wonder who he is afraid of that wants to kill him . . . Russian oligarchs, Russian mafia, foreign operatives, terrorists, some members of the US military?\u00a0 Perhaps the idiot can get another note from his doctor saying he has bone spurs that won’t allow him to run for cover if need be!\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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Daily Kos<\/span><\/strong><\/a> — The President of the United States is such an embarrassment that he cannot even perform the simple duty of the traditional Thanksgiving week pardon of turkeys without taking swipes at Democrats.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Instead of just performing this light hearted duty of the pardoning of the turkeys, one named Peas and one named Carrots, he just had to add some snarky nonsense:<\/p>\n

“The winner of this vote was decided by a fair and open election conducted on the White House website. This was a fair election. Unfortunately Carrots refused to concede and demanded a recount and we are fighting with Carrots.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Click through for the remainder of Trumps comments about pardoning Peas and Carrots.\u00a0 It seems that Kim Jung Un had the correct name for Trump . . . dotard!\u00a0 For those not familiar with the word, a dotard is\u00a0“A state or period of senile decay marked by decline of mental poise.” as described by Merriam-Webster.\u00a0 I think we should also add in “given to vendetta without provocation” for Trump.<\/span><\/p>\n

CBS News<\/strong><\/span><\/a> —\u00a0So how important is voting anyway?\u00a0 We hear about people who cannot be bothered, while others have so many obstacles put in front of them that voting is near impossible.\u00a0 But have you heard about Gracie Phillips, an 82 year old great grandmother from Texas?<\/span><\/p>\n

An 82-year-old great-grandmother from Texas voted for the first time ever during this year’s midterm elections. Gracie Phillips was battling pneumonia and in hospice care when she voted early on Thursday. Sadly, just four days after casting her midterm ballot, Phillips died \u2014 but not before she had her voice heard and her opinion counted, her granddaughters told CBS News.<\/span><\/p>\n

Phillips registered to vote in Grand Prairie, Texas, last month, just before she was admitted to the hospital. “With such a large family started at such a young age, priorities in 1951 weren’t the same out here in the country,” her granddaughter, Michelle Phillips, told CBS News. “Women were allowed to vote, but she was raising seven children and trying to work… [voting] kept getting pushed aside and she decided this year, ‘I’m registering.'”<\/p>\n

Click through for the rest of Gracie’s story.\u00a0 Do you want to bet that Gracie has all the people in heaven registered to vote!\u00a0 OK, the 2018 midterms are over and the Democrats wrested the House from Republican control by a good margin.\u00a0 The Senate and the White House must be next in 2020!\u00a0 So are you like Gracie was before 2018 . . . not registered for whatever the reason?\u00a0 If so, what is your excuse for not registering for 2020?\u00a0 Coming out to vote is your civic duty, not one to be shirked.<\/span><\/p>\n

My Universe<\/strong><\/span> —\u00a0In these tense times, I thought a little levity was needed.\u00a0 Enjoy!<\/span><\/p>\n