{"id":38540,"date":"2019-12-25T07:33:15","date_gmt":"2019-12-25T15:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=38540"},"modified":"2019-12-25T07:33:15","modified_gmt":"2019-12-25T15:33:15","slug":"open-thread-12-25-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2019\/12\/25\/open-thread-12-25-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Thread – 12\/25\/2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s Christmas morning, here in the CatBox.  WWWendy celebrates with her family on Christmas Eve, so my present today is to become a de-stunk  TomCat.  I gave her a set of Mellanni king size sheets.  There are none softer.  For her birthday last week, I gave her a large basket of gourmet sweets.  She loved\/hated them.  She’ll be here around three and is bringing ham and beans, cooked in my pressure cooker to make it easier for me to digest.  Merry Christmas to you all.<\/font><\/p>\n

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

Today’s took me 4:35 (average 8:13).  To do it, click here<\/a>.  How did you do?<\/font><\/p>\n

Cartoon<\/strong>:<\/font><\/p>\n

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

From Daily Kos<\/a>: <\/font>Three pastors at Mount Ararat Baptist Church in Virginia decided to give<\/a> the holiday gift of school lunch debt relief to local families. While school lunch debt shouldn\u2019t be a thing families (and specifically students) have to worry about, it very much is. So a group of pastors decided to take $17,000 from the church\u2019s budget to erase much of the lunch debt at two local school systems.<\/p>\n

The Rev. Brian Bennett, the Rev. Jerry Williams, and the Rev. Andrew Segre donated about $7,000 to Spotsylvania County Public Schools, which covered balances in the entire district<\/a>, as well as just over $10,000 to Stafford County Public Schools, which covered balances at a few elementary<\/a> schools. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt seemed like a good idea, [but] we didn\u2019t know if there was a need because no one ever seems to talk about this,\u201d the Rev. Williams explained in a Facebook video<\/a>, which quickly went viral. \u201cSo we called the school systems. And gosh, wow, was there a need.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a churchy thing,\u201d Williams stressed. \u201cThis \u2014 helping children and families \u2014 this is a thing that anyone can do.\u201d He and the other two pastors say they plan to pay off lunch debt again. As The Washington Post<\/a> reports, donations to cover this lunch debt came from the church\u2019s 2019 budget. Because the church generally saves 10% of its annual budget for charitable projects, Williams suggests they could make a similar donation next year, based on their 2020 budget. <\/p>\n

As Baptists are evangelicals, I probably disagree with these gents on a number of issues, but here, we praise and acknowledge the good done by those with whom we disagree too.   They illustrate that, while Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christians starve hungry children, authentic Christians feed them.  RESIST<\/strong>!!<\/font> <\/p>\n

From YouTube<\/a> (Robert Reich Channel<\/a>): <\/font>5 Ways to Stop Corporations From Ruining the Future of Work with Robert Reich <\/p>\n