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Cheers and Jeers: Monday [1]
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Date: 2023-05-22
One of my favorite things Harvey wrote is his 10 rules on how to win a local election (from Randy Shilts' book The Mayor of Castro Street, which doubles as a riveting history of the gay rights movement in San Francisco):
1. Interviews with all major papers. ['All' was underlined three times.]
2. Knock on all doors.
3. Ride buses
4. Visit non-gay bars during the daytime and any singles bars at nite.
5. Coffee shops and restaurants. Stop off early in morning and late at night.
6. Shake hands.
7. Shake hands.
8. As few meetings as possible—just meet the people.
9. Door to door of registered Demo's is very best thing you can do outside of media coverage.
10. Don't stop.
If he hadn’t been assassinated in 1978 at 48, he would've grown in stature as a guiding force and relentless fighter for full equality. He'd be thrilled with the gains made in the military (he was a Navy vet himself, and in 2021 a Navy vessel was named after him), marriage equality, corporate non-discrimination policies, and the overall de-stigmatization of LGBTQ Americans. But he'd be impatient as all get-out at the snail's pace at which those accomplishments happened, and furious that anti-LGBTQ violence is still happening with such depressing frequency.
Harvey's now-famous core message of hope is as relevant as ever, and it's one of the reasons he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009:
"It’s about the us’s out there. Not only gays, but the Blacks, the Asians, the disabled, the seniors, the us’s. Without hope, the us’s give up. I know you cannot live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living. And you, and you, and you…you gotta give em’ hope.”
Happy birthday, Harvey.
And now, our feature presentation...
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Cheers and Jeers for Monday, May 22, 2023
Note: [Sniff Sniff!] I detect a three-day weekend ahead. Smells like corn on the cob, freedom pie, SPF 500, and fresh blood seeping from gaping Jarts wounds. Not necessarily in that order.
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By the Numbers:
5 days!!!
Days 'til the next full "strawberry moon": 11
Days 'til BBQ & Brew in Rutland, Vermont: 5
Initial unemployment claims announced last week, down 22k from the previous week and still the lowest in 50 years: 242,000
Number of high-paid employees who won’t be working in Florida, now that Disney has canceled it's $1 billion office complex there because of Ron DeSantis: 2,000
Percent chance that the U.S. will support a joint effort with allies and partners to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth generation aircraft, including F-16s: 100%
Extra time it's taking for millennials and Generation X to reach the same level of representation in Congress as it has been for the past three generations, according to a CNN analysis of recent data from Congress, CQ and ProPublica: 5-10 years
Weight of the world's largest security padlock: 916 pounds
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Puppy Pic of the Day: Monday…
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CHEERS to the star of the weekend. While MAGA Republicans continued pursuing their fever dream of blowing up the world economy by dithering on the debt ceiling, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy trekked halfway around the globe to Japan, where he continued pursuing his dream of blowing up Russia's hopes of conquering his country:
Zelenskyy’s surprise visit to Hiroshima on Saturday evening, following earlier reports that he would only attend online, immediately thrust the G7‘s efforts to choke Russia’s economy to the top of a busy agenda that has touched on issues ranging from China’s rise to the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence. Biden with Zelenskyy yesterday in Hiroshima. “Peace will become closer today,” he said on his official Twitter account. French President Emmanuel Macron late on Saturday hailed Zelenskyy’s attendance at the summit as a potential “game changer.” On Sunday, the final day of the summit, Zelenskyy is scheduled to join G7 leaders and invited non-members, including India, Indonesia and Brazil, for talks on peace and global stability. Zelenskyy is also expected to hold more bilateral talks with world leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden.
Time will tell how much good came out of the summit, but one thing we know for sure: Zelenskyy is finally getting some of our fearsome F-16s to "offer Ukraine an improved capability to destroy fixed Russian targets near the frontlines from a safer distance.” As someone who purchased an F-16 to take out Mr. McGillicutty's tool shed three blocks over because he wouldn't return my lawnmower, I can say this unequivocally: Russia won’t know what hit 'em.
JEERS to the ongoing distraction from getting real work done. Continuing our daily updates on the debt crisis, here's the latest: things have totally changed since yesterday. Yesterday was Sunday, today is Monday. Totally different! Other than that, the debt crisis—which need not be a crisis at all—will continue until 11:59 pm on May 31, 2023, when the debt ceiling is raised and Republicans totally forget about it and move on to the next ginned-up fake crisis. Meanwhile, as we wait for the inevitable resolution, here's something fun you can do to pass the time: take a piece of paper, draw 100 random dots on it, number the dots, and then connect them. Good for you, li'l nipper! You made a picture! Now bolt it to the fridge and help yourself to a juice box, champ.
CHEERS to Abraham "That's Using the Old Bean"-coln. On May 22, 1849, Honest Abe received patent #6469 for his design of a floating dry dock—in fact, he was the first president to ever receive a patent. Sadly, he never found the time to complete his follow-up invention: the floating wet bar. Our nation's loss.
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BRIEF SANITY BREAK
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x Listen to the strange sound a block of ice makes when it hits the bottom of a 90 meter borehole in an Antarctic glacier. 🧊🔊pic.twitter.com/kTW92qJZsF — Wonder of Science (@wonderofscience) May 18, 2023
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END BRIEF SANITY BREAK
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CHEERS to jump-starting the jalopy. 123 years ago this week, the first auto repair shop opened in Boston. Followed soon after by the first auto repair bill-induced cardiac arrhythmia.
CHEERS to jobs jobs jobs jobs jobs. Hey, mind if I brag for a moment? Not a big brag. Just a little brag. As in, Maine's unemployment rate is now so little it's worth bragging about:
Maine’s unemployment rate dropped to 2.4 percent in April, down from 2.6 percent in March. The latest rate is the lowest in the state Department of Labor’s series of statistics, which dates to 1976. In April 2020, as the pandemic ravaged the economy, Maine’s unemployment stood at 9.3 percent. The figure has now been below 4 percent for 17 consecutive months, the fourth longest period on record.
Guess which party controlled the Maine state legislature and governor's office during that record-breaking period of job creation. Go on…guess. I'll be over here in my Dining Den Devouring these Delightfully Delicious DoorDash-Delivered Dunkin’ Donuts.
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Ten years ago in C&J: May 22, 2013
CHEERS to making hissssstory. Some guy in Florida caught and killed the biggest snake Florida has ever seen. As soon as he heard the news, Governor Rick Scott immediately checked his pulse and then breathed a huge sigh of relief.
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And just one more…
CHEERS to Canada! Today is Victoria Day, and we'd be insulting our neighbors to the north if we didn't wish them a happy day for dusting off their William Shatner shrines (required by law) and chugging any leftover Molson from last year's Victoria Day. If you're wondering what all the fuss is aboot...
Victoria Day (French: Fête de la Reine) is a federal Canadian statutory holiday observed on the Monday before May 25th each year. ...or else off with your head. Victoria Day marks the birthday of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). Following the death of Queen Victoria, May 24th was decreed as Empire Day across the British Empire. Today, Canada is the only country who still has a holiday on the day. Victoria reigned for 63 years and seven months, a record for a British monarch that was only beaten in September 2015 by Queen Elizabeth II. Though she never actually visited Canada, Queen Victoria grew up knowing a lot about Canada. Her father, the Duke of Kent (Prince Edward, fourth son of King George III), had lived for nearly ten years in Quebec City and Halifax.
All I can say is: thank god it's finally here. I’m getting so tired of the radio stations and their 24/7 Victoria Day carol marathons. ("Grandma Got Run Over By A Mountie" AGAIN?!!!)
Have a tolerable Monday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial “You have basically three people at this point that are credible in this whole thing. Biden, Bill in Portland Maine and me. And I think of those three, two have a chance to get elected president—Biden and Bill in Portland Maine.” —Gov. Ron DeSantis
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[END]
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