{"id":40953,"date":"2020-08-31T11:30:25","date_gmt":"2020-08-31T18:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=40953"},"modified":"2020-08-31T11:30:25","modified_gmt":"2020-08-31T18:30:25","slug":"open-thread-8-31-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2020\/08\/31\/open-thread-8-31-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Thread – 8\/31\/2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s a busy day here in the CatBox.  Diana should be here in a few minutes for her routine visit, and WWWendy will be here late this afternoon.  The score is now WWWendy 1 to TC 1.  I plugged the toilet this morning!  ARGH!  Oh God, it’s Monday!<\/font><\/p>\n

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

Today’s took me 3:06 (average 4:55).  To do it, click here<\/a>.  How did you do?<\/font><\/p>\n

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

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Trump* Virus Update<\/strong>:<\/font><\/p>\n

\"0831TrumpVirusMap\"<\/font><\/p>\n

Click for interactive map<\/a><\/p>\n

US <\/strong><\/font>Cases: 6,177,092
US Deaths: 187,248
Plus the thousands of GOP plague murder victims Republicans are hiding from us<\/strong><\/font> <\/p>\n

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

From Alternet<\/a><\/font>: <\/font>One of the many oddities of the now-terminated Robert Mueller probe into Russian election interference and its links to various members of the Trump campaign and family, and in fact of all known federal probes into Russia\u2019s Trump-related actions, has been the seeming lack of any counterintelligence probe on Donald Trump\u2019s myriad, longstanding financial connections to Russia\u2014and what role those financial ties have played both in the Russian government\u2019s actions on behalf of Trump and their possible leverage over the now-president.<\/p>\n

A new story from The New York Times\u2018 Michael Schmidt<\/a> reports that that\u2019s because in the first months of the new Trump administration, former deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein shuttered that investigation\u2014then ordered special counsel Robert Mueller to steer clear of it himself. It\u2019s not that the counterintelligence investigation into Trump\u2019s known ties to Russian crime figures, to money laundering, and his family\u2019s stated reliance on Russian cash has been kept closely-held: It never existed. And it still doesn\u2019t. <\/p>\n

Assuming that we win in November, the investigation blocked by Rosy Rectum Rosenstein needs to be done, and Trump* needs to be prosecuted, convicted, and incarcerated for the crimes Republicans are hiding.  RESIST<\/strong>!!<\/font> <\/p>\n

From Crooks and Liars<\/a>: <\/font>Hopped up on Trump rage and Village People music, this white man feels emboldened to walk up to a journalist and verbally abuse and threaten media in New Hampshire.<\/p>\n