{"id":7158,"date":"2012-02-17T00:00:23","date_gmt":"2012-02-17T08:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=7158"},"modified":"2012-02-17T00:00:23","modified_gmt":"2012-02-17T08:00:23","slug":"open-thread2172012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2012\/02\/17\/open-thread2172012\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Thread–2\/17\/2012"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although I was still quite tired, yesterday was a busy one.  I had to walk to the mailbox to mail a letter in support of a prisoner, whit whom I do volunteer work, seeking parole.  From there, I walked to the drug store to get the collection of items I\u2019ll need to prepare for next week\u2019s test.  All in all I walked about two miles, so I\u2019m pretty wiped out.  I\u2019m current with replies.  Today is a rest and paperwork day.<\/font><\/p>\n

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

Today it took me 3:48 (average 4:43).  To do it, click here<\/a>.  How did you do?<\/font><\/p>\n

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

From MoveOn<\/a>: <\/font>The #1 Lie About Keystone That The GOP Is Pushing Right Now<\/p>\n

\"17keystone-full\"<\/p>\n

That estimate is generous.  Republicans are great at creating jobs, everywhere but in the US.<\/font><\/p>\n

From Reuters<\/a>: <\/font>The new U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a proposal to regulate about 200 debt collectors and companies that produce credit reports as part of an effort to extend its oversight beyond the banking industry.<\/p>\n

The agency is charged by the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial oversight law with overseeing consumer financial products, such as credit cards and mortgages offered by banks, as well as some products offered outside the industry, including residential mortgages and student loans.<\/p>\n

It also has the authority to extend its oversight to companies that are "larger participants" in consumer financial markets.<\/p>\n

Debt collectors and credit reporting agencies are the first industries to be targeted for supervision under this power.<\/p>\n

Since both are rife with consumer abuse, I consider this a good idea.<\/font><\/p>\n

From Slate<\/a>: <\/font>Oklahoma has become the latest state to mobilize behind so-called "personhood" legislation, which would define the beginning of human life as at the moment of conception. The state Senate passed such a bill, 34-8, on Wednesday and it looks likely to sail through the House as well, the Oklahoman<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n

Virginia House legislators also passed a pair of anti-abortion bills this week, including its own personhood measure. The other<\/a> bill would require women to have an ultrasound before undergoing an abortion. A version of the ultrasound legislation has already passed the state Senate and Republican Governor Bob McDonnell is expected to sign the bill into law, CBS News<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n

With Republicans, the right to life begins at conception and ends at birth.<\/font><\/p>\n

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

\"17Cartoon\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although I was still quite tired, yesterday was a busy one.  I had to walk to the mailbox to mail a letter in support of a prisoner, whit whom I do volunteer work, seeking parole.  From there, I walked to the drug store to get the collection of items I\u2019ll need to prepare for next […]<\/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-7158","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\/7158","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=7158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7158\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}