(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Cheers and Jeers: Monday [1]
['Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags', 'Showtags Popular_Tags']
Date: 2023-03-06
4) Use a separate smartphone balanced on your other knee to check the price of Fox News stock. If it’s going down, re-activate your viewership by reading from the latest list of “conservatives who had a hit put out on them by Hillary Clinton.” If that doesn’t work, invite your guest to join you in singing the Russian national anthem. 5) When it's time to wrap up the segment, thank the guest for coming on the show, offer an invitation to come back "very soon," and demand that "Congress get to the bottom of this." 6) When your show is finished, remove your lapel mic and gather your papers. Then go back to your office and huff ether.
Easy peasy.
And now, our feature presentation…
-
Cheers and Jeers for Monday, March 6, 2023
Note: As of today, there are only 300 days left in the year. Hey, those 2024 New Years resolutions aren’t gonna write themselves. Get crackin’.
-
By the Numbers:
3 days!!!
Days 'til we turn our clocks ahead: 6
Days 'til the New England Craft Brew Summit in Portland, Maine: 3
ISM Services Index for February, higher than expected and an indication of economic expansion in the services sector for the second straight month: 55.1%
Current U.S. home ownership rate, the highest in seven years: 66%
Home ownership rate for whites and Blacks, respectively, the widest in ten years: 73%, 44%
Cost to live on Life At Sea Cruises' MV Gemini cruise ship, which is departing on a three-year voyage in November: $179,994
Number of ports it will stop at during its 130,000 mile voyage: 375
-
Puppy Pic of the Day: Over in Turkey 22 days after the big earthquake…..Saved!!!
-
CHEERS to treating voters like grownups. While red states continue their campaign to make it as difficult for Democrats to vote as possible, the blue ones continue their campaign to make voting as fair and accessible as possible. Two developments in a pair of key states happened last week, recapped on Friday by Marc Elias at Democracy Docket:
» Today, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) signed House File 28, which will restore voting rights to over 50,000 Minnesotans on parole, probation or community release due to a felony conviction once the law goes into effect in July. The most terrifying thing to a Republican: a Democrat with one of these on their jacket. » On Wednesday, a Pennsylvania state House committee removed a proposed constitutional amendment requiring proof of ID to vote from Senate Bill 1. The move comes after Democrats won control of the chamber for the first time in over a decade.
Up here in Maine I'm working on a citizen's petition requiring residents to obtain an ID with a photo of themselves in drag before they can cast a ballot. Some might call that an attempt to suppress Republican turnout. I call it ensuring election integrity across this great state of ours. And I'm always right.
CHEERS to fun with health care math. Remember when the Affordable Care Act passed and all the states run by Democrats embraced its Medicaid expansion provision? Remember how many millions of people that helped? And then do you remember when citizen referendums started getting passed in states run by Republicans that expanded Medicaid and millions more benefited? And remember how then some Republican governments expanded Medicaid because they saw how popular it was? Well, here we are over a decade later and we're down to the final 11 holdouts. If North Carolina stays on its current legislative trajectory, that number will soon be down to ten:
“An agreement by legislative leaders to expand Medicaid in North Carolina is a monumental step that will save lives and I commend the hard work that got us here,” [Governor Roy] Cooper said in a written statement. Governor Roy Cooper waits, pen in hand, to green-light Medicaid expansion in North Carolina. “Since we all agree this is the right thing to do, we should make it effective now to make sure we leverage the money that will save our rural hospitals and invest in mental health. I look forward to reviewing the details of the bill.” Soon after, President Joe Biden was also in a celebratory mood. “I work every day to bring down health care costs, and I’ve called on leaders to do the same. This is what I’m talking about: This bipartisan deal would expand Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of people,” the Democrat wrote on Twitter. “That’ll be 40 states who’ve expanded. 10 more to go.”
Result: another 600,000 low-income Americans—in a southern state, no less—will finally get the health care they need. All because Republicans in the North Carolina General Assembly saw the light and admitted that the Democrats' Medicaid program is totally excellent and a shining beacon of hope, love and common sense in a world gone mad. If we can just keep the weed vapors wafting through the building's ventilation system a little longer, I like our chances.
JEERS to an unsatisfactory conclusion. On March 6, 1857, the Supreme Court ruled in the Dred Scott case. Their brilliant conclusion: slaves aren’t citizens, according to their strict interpretation of the Constitution:
[I]n the opinion of the justices, black people were not considered citizens when the Constitution was drafted in 1787. According to [Chief Justice Roger] Taney, Dred Scott was the property of his owner, and property could not be taken from a person without due process of law. Five years ago the city of Baltimore took down its statue of racist rat bastard Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. They shoulda replaced it with a steaming turd. In fact, there were free black citizens of the United States in 1787, but Taney and the other justices were attempting to halt further debate on the issue of slavery in the territories. The decision inflamed regional tensions, which burned for another four years before exploding into the Civil War.
Chief Justice Taney—with political pressure from none other than President Buchanan—thought the decision would settle the issue of slavery. I think enough time has passed that I can say with reasonable confidence: what a dope.
-
BRIEF SANITY BREAK
-
x This clip shows the live transition from black & white to color TV illustrated by news presenter Bob Bruner on Iowa’s Channel 2 in 1967
[source, read more:
https://t.co/8SkrwOLgxH]pic.twitter.com/1wJLqZ8sUz — Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) March 3, 2023
-
END BRIEF SANITY BREAK
-
CHEERS to walking into a hornet's nest. Man, talk about hitting the ground running. 162 years ago this week, in 1861, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated. And 90 years ago, in 1933, Franklin Roosevelt was inaugurated. Lincoln led the country through our nightmarish Civil War. FDR led the country through our nightmarish Great Depression and nightmarisher World War II. Meanwhile, the now-ex 45th president claims he "has done more for African Americans in this Country than any President since Lincoln." Why do I bring him into it? Because it's my job to make you laugh.
JEERS to dumpster fire as usual. CPAC, the annual gathering of Washington D.C.-hating conservative swamp dwellers who always meet at—and pump tons of money into—Washington D.C. while railing against swamp dwellers, wrapped up Saturday. Here's a brief recap of some of the grown-up activities on display from America's family-values "daddy party":
♨ As usual, every speaker exploded in rage over what a hopeless cesspool America is…and then closed their speeches with "God bless this exceptional nation of ours." ♨ Several conservative leaders boycotted the event this year. So instead of listening to their racist, sexist, transphobic, immigrant-bashing, fact-averse, conspiracy-theory-peddling bullshit, attendees had to listen to other conservative leaders’ racist, sexist, transphobic, immigrant-bashing, fact-averse, conspiracy-theory-peddling bullshit. ♨ Despite the drop in attendance, the 2023 conference broke the previous record for rage-sweating. Over 2,000 gallons this year, all of which will be infused into Henry Kissinger to keep him alive well into his third century. ♨ Grindr almost melted down from all the M4M action after sundown: Hmmm. Sounds familiar. That you, Pence??? ♨ CNN's Daniel Dale drew the short straw for fact-checking duties. His brain is currently resting comfortably in an undisclosed ICU. ♨ Apparently the cult that Fox News built is now at war with—[checks notes]—Fox News. Did not see that coming. ♨ As usual: the majority of the little pink plastic anti-abortion fetuses that were handed out in everyone’s swag bag ended up being tossed in the trash...without a hint of metaphoric self-awareness. ♨ The convention tried to keep out the real crazies. Access was strictly limited to just the garden-variety crazies through the use of special twitch detectors.
By the way, what's the difference between the CPAC convention and a typical session in the MAGA-led House? One is a gaggle of creepy people hellbent on destroying the country and obstructing progress through lies and smears and thuggery, and the other is the CPAC convention.
-
Ten years ago in C&J: March 6, 2013
CHEERS to opportunities for a fresh start. If you had plans to send a "Get well soon" card to Hugo Chavez, cancel 'em. The Venezuelan leader is dead at 58. He was a charismatic and bullheaded oddball who, like all leaders who scramble to keep a firm grasp on power, resorted to strong-arm tactics and censorship. And he was a button-pusher:
In one of his most memorable insults, Chavez said of Bush in 2006 before the U.N. General Assembly: "The devil came here yesterday. And it smells of sulfur still today." […] At a summit in 2007, his repeated attempts to interrupt resulted in King Juan Carlos of Spain saying to him, "Why don't you shut up?"
As for what happens next: the funeral is Friday and his vice president is handling things for now. What happens after that is just a bunch of upside-down question marks.
-
And just one more…
CHEERS to a furry four-legger's best friend. Can’t let the day to go by without sending out a heartfelt “meow” in honor of Tricia Wyse LeFevre—aka Daily Kos's beloved animal rights activist and "Pootie Queen"—who left us seven years ago yesterday. Tricia was the driving force behind the daily "pootie diaries" (and, for canine aficionados, "Woozle Wednesdays"), a lengthy strip of LOL pics that served (and still serves, thanks to her litter of a-“mew”-sing surrogates) as a welcome oasis on the Rec List amidst all the pie flinging and Trump insanity. Kossack bfitzinAR said it best in her diary that broke the news:
Triciawyse, aka The Pootie Queen It’s hard to even start on how and why she was so important. … She created a space where people could bring their joy in their pets, their questions about pets, and their sorrow at the loss of their pets. She created a safe space where we could come when the stresses of our personal lives became overwhelming. She loved our community, kept track of us, let everyone know when one of us needed help or sympathy---and put it on the top of every diary that she would defend the Peeps under any circumstances.
One of the nicest things this community did for Tricia was to pay her way to attend the Netroots Nation convention in Providence in 2011. Michael and I were there when she arrived at the hotel—yes, wearing her leopard-print cat ears (above)—and until the moment she left five days later she was treated like the royalty she was. Fair to say that was a highlight of what was a very challenging life for Trish. So, in her honor today, we’re serving up a giant tub of Fancy Feast Liver & Giblet casserole in the C&J cafeteria. Would you prefer a fork or a spoon?
Have a tolerable Monday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
-
Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial Americans Like Bill in Portland Maine’s Cheers and Jeers. The Supreme Court…Not So Much. —FiveThirtyEight
-
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/3/6/2156069/-Cheers-and-Jeers-Monday
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
