{"id":5978,"date":"2011-09-30T00:00:39","date_gmt":"2011-09-30T07:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=5978"},"modified":"2011-09-30T00:00:39","modified_gmt":"2011-09-30T07:00:39","slug":"open-thread9302010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2011\/09\/30\/open-thread9302010\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Thread–9\/30\/2010"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, I worked my butt off.  Defrosting the refrigerator took nine hours, changing four containers of hot water and emptying the drip pan every half hour.  In addition the NFL website accidentally locked a member of our fantasy football league out, and I had to figure out how to get him back in control of his team.  I probably should have waited.  He plays me this weekend and will probably say shanks by beating my arse.  Moreover, I had to make a quick run to the store, and when I returned, did my online grocery shopping for the month.  I missed a lot of sleep time.  I\u2019m current with replies, but was very brief.  Tomorrow, I have errands and will try to rest.<\/font><\/p>\n

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

Today it took me 5:05 (average 5:04).  To do it, click here<\/a>.  How did you do?<\/font><\/p>\n

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

From The Guardian<\/a>: <\/font>Civil rights and immigrant support groups have filed an appeal against a federal judge’s refusal to block key parts of Alabama’s tough new immigration law, regarded as the most draconian in the country.<\/p>\n

The groups, along with the US justice department and church leaders, had filed three separate challenges to the law, which critics argue would legalise racial profiling. But on Wednesday US district judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn refused to block most of the provisions, allowing Alabama to require public schools to determine the immigration status of children upon enrollment and giving police the power to detain people suspected of being in the US illegally without bail.<\/p>\n

This bill was based on Arizona\u2019s racist measure.  Needless to say, the judge is a Republican activist.<\/font><\/p>\n

From Washington Post<\/a>: <\/font>On Capitol Hill, Thursday was a rare day in which the House could do something important by doing nothing at all.<\/p>\n

The task: stave off a federal government shutdown by passing a budget extension that would get the government through the weekend. It wouldn\u2019t require a vote. It wouldn\u2019t even take the whole 435-member House.<\/p>\n

Because of an unusual procedural tactic, all that was required was for a handful of lawmakers to show up \u2014 and then shut up. Their silence would be interpreted as \u201cunanimous consent,\u201d and the bill would pass.<\/p>\n

Democrats did not mind this dubious tactic, because it represents a victory for them over Republican economic terrorism.  But mark my words.  We will see it again at a time when it is not welcome.<\/font><\/p>\n

From Beyond Chron<\/a>: <\/font>While GOP politicians scream about \u201cclass warfare\u201d when Democrats talk about raising taxes for those making over $1 million a year, a new poll<\/a> by Public Policy Polling shows 73% of the American public support that idea. While that result is consistent with what we\u2019ve seen in other polls, far more interesting here is the crosstabs<\/a>. Not surprisingly, 78% of Democrats support the so-called \u201cWarren Buffet Rule\u201d \u2013 that those making over $1 million should not be paying a lower tax rate than the rest of us. But so do 73% of independent voters, and even 66% of Republicans. When you ask respondents who identify with the Tea Party, we still have 52% in favor \u2013 with 29% opposed.<\/p>\n

The pollster must have caught the baggers when there was not someone there to tell them what to think.<\/font><\/p>\n

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

\"30Cartoon\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, I worked my butt off.  Defrosting the refrigerator took nine hours, changing four containers of hot water and emptying the drip pan every half hour.  In addition the NFL website accidentally locked a member of our fantasy football league out, and I had to figure out how to get him back in control of […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,3,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-open-thread","category-personal","category-politics","category-35-id","category-3-id","category-5-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5978\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}