(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Cheers and Jeers: Thursday [1]
[]
Date: 2023-07-20
The Big “Con” Climbing into my home-built starship (thanks again for the blueprints, Popular Mechanics) and using the sun as a slingshot to achieve speeds that allowed me to merge with a wormhole, yesterday I made my annual trip back in time to fetch this bit of insight-with-no-expiration-date from Paul Waldman circa July, 2006. Consider it a timely warning to our current spate of GOP toxicity:
Conservatism is the ideology of the past—a past we don't want to return to. Continued...
Waldman continued...
Liberals need to embrace the culture war, because we're winning. The story of American history is that of conservative ideas and prejudices falling away as our society grows more progressive and thus more true to our nation's founding ideals. Conservatives supported slavery, conservatives opposed women's suffrage, conservatives supported Jim Crow, conservatives opposed the 40-hour work week and the abolishment of child labor, and conservatives supported McCarthyism. In short, all the major advancements of freedom and justice in our history were pushed by liberals and opposed by conservatives, no matter the party they inhabited at the time. Conservatism is Bill Bennett lecturing you about self-denial, then rushing off to feed his slot habit at the casino. It's James Dobson telling you that children need regular beatings to stay in line. It's a superannuated nun rapping you on the knuckles so you won't think about your dirty parts. It's Jerry Falwell watching "Teletubbies" frame by frame to see if Tinky Winky is trying to turn him gay. Conservatism is everyone you never wanted to grow up to be.
Let’s just hope our country gets that through its thick skull in time. At the moment it’s looking hopeful but iffy.
P.S. Follow Paul Waldman on twitter here.
And now, our feature presentation...
-
Cheers and Jeers for Thursday, July 20, 2023
Note: A quick heads-up that there will be no C&J on Monday as we'll be retroactively winning the 2006 superlotto jackpot and telling everybody they can piss off because WE'RE RICH RICH RICH HA HA HAAAAA!!!! Back Tuesday to beg everybody's forgiveness when we realize that we retroactively blew our fortune on cocaine and hookers in 2007. —Mgt.
-
By the Numbers:
8 days!!!
Days 'til Puerto Rico Constitution Day: 5
Days 'til The Kneading Conference in Skowhegan, Maine: 8
Factor by which severe global heat waves have increased since the 1980s: 6x
Temperature in Rome Tuesday: 107 F
Percent of Brits polled by YouGov who believe Brexit was/is a mistake: 60%
Percent of waste water that's recycled aboard the Space Station: 93%
Year Marilyn Monroe was crowned Miss California Artichoke Queen: 1947
-
Your Thursday Molly Ivins Moment:
This summer, five hundred people died from a heat wave in Chicago, and Russian scientists report venomous snakes appearing for the first time in the far north. A team of British scientists predicts that 1995 will be the warmest year in human history. Bill McKibben, author of Hope, Human and Wild (out next month), wrote in the Los Angeles Times that the most curious part of this phenomenon is not that it’s taking place—global warming is right where it’s supposed to be, according to all the predictions by all the scientists who have studied it—but that no one is paying attention. As they say at Alcoholics Anonymous, denial is not just a river in Egypt. Denial of global warming is being aided and abetted by those whom McKibben calls “confusionists”—ideologues and industry flacks who keep trying to discredit the scientists by using inaccurate and misunderstood statistics. Rush Limbaugh, for some bizarre reason, has taken it upon himself to crusade against the idea of global warming as some kind of left-wing plot. […] One theory of government is that it only reacts to a crisis; trouble comes when we cannot even agree on what a crisis is. Pardon me if some left-wing bias is showing here, but I’d rather get my scientific information from scientists than from Limbaugh. —September 1995
-
Puppy Pic of the Day: Xena gets a puppy…
-
CHEERS to brief follow-ups. In the wake of the news that special counsel Jack Smith issued a "target letter" to the infamous leader of the MAGA cult indicating that his arrest and indictment were imminent on charges stemming from the January 6, 2021 insurrection, we asked our faithful readership to send us their questions about the situation. Given that the legal process and its ramifications can be complex and confusing, we hired a blue-ribbon panel of legal experts to sift through the queries and provide answers in bold to the fullest extent of their professional knowledge and experience:
Has that traitor been indicted yet? No. Has that idiot been indicted yet? No. Has that mother*fucker been indicted yet? No. Has that asshole been indicted yet? No. Has that America-hater been indicted yet? No. Any indictments yet? No. Do you know when the indictments will drop? No. Do you know why the indictments are taking so long? No. Has he been indicted in the between the time it took to answer the previous questions and this one? No. How about now? No. Now? No. Anything yet? No.
Gee, thanks, everybody. That was money well spent.
JEERS to Terrible Moments in Amnesia. Holy triple summersaults, Batman, did we fall down on the job! I totally spaced out that the Olympics in Paris start on July 24th. That's barely enough time to have my beret dry-cleaned and my baguette pantry restocked. Thank goodness the press is here to remind us of the imminent feats of strength and skill headed our way:
From July 24 to August 11, people watching from across the globe will be able to follow competitions in athletics, swimming, tennis, fencing and many other disciplines. Bonjour, les sports fans. The competitions themselves begin with the first Olympic weekend, with no fewer than 11 titles to be awarded on the first Saturday of the games. Cycling enthusiasts can enjoy the men's and women's individual time trials, which will be free for anyone wishing to attend. Fencing fans will also have the chance to see saber and épée fencers on stage under the nave of the Grand Palais for the discipline's first medals.
Very Minor Update: Sorry 'bout that. I checked the fine print and, if you believe what you read in the press, it's the 2024 Olympic Games. But we're not totally out of luck. This morning you can watch the World Tiddlywinks Championship from Brussels at this handy link. My money's on Flip.
CHEERS to giant leaps for humankind. Speaking of momentous occasions, 54 years ago today, at 10:56 pm eastern time, John Kennedy's vision to put a man on the Moon by decade's end was realized when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on a heavenly body not named Earth—the landmarkiest of landmark human events that I (along with a microscopically-small percentage of all humans who have or will ever inhabit this planet, which makes us pretty damn lucky) got to witness with my own 5-year-old eyes. It almost turned tragic when they nearly landed inside a boulder-strewn crater, but quick-thinking Armstrong switched the controls to manual and guided the module to a flatter surface. And then...magic:
Armstrong’s iconic shot of Buzz Aldrin, who is still with us at 93.
See amazing high-res pics here. For your enjoyment of the anniversary, this morning the C&J cafeteria is servin' up as much Tang as your tummy can hold. (True fact: in space, nobody can hear you belch.)
-
BRIEF SANITY BREAK
-
x The Chrysler Building, a masterpiece of automotive art deco on Lexington Ave reimagined as a typewriter art with my 1960’s Olympia typewriter #typewriter #nyc #chryslerbuilding pic.twitter.com/ePtQ1bkXKJ — James Cook Artwork (@jjcook9628) July 18, 2023
-
END BRIEF SANITY BREAK
-
CHEERS to defying expectations. Thirty-three years ago this week, President George Bush—the relatively normal George Bush—announced that David Souter was his pick to replace liberal-leaning justice William Brennan on the U.S. Supreme Court:
Bush, who appeared nervous at the outset of the press conference, insisted he had not applied a "litmus test" of how Souter ruled in previous cases. One of the good guys. The president noted that Souter had been considered for a previous Supreme Court opening late in the Reagan administration and added, "I have selected a person who will interpret the Constitution and, in my view, not legislate from the bench."
Souter's progressive leanings took conservatives—and liberals, frankly—by surprise. (I believe their exact words were, "What the fu....?!!") But he did exactly what his appointer said he would: rule fairly and un-legislatively. We hope the 83-year-old is enjoying his long and happy retirement in New Hampshire cracking walnuts with his gavel. If anyone's earned it, he has. (You, too, Justice Breyer.)
CHEERS and JEERS to, respectively, conservatives over there and conservatives over here. For your inspection, a portrait in contrasts. In Great Britain, where the right-wing has lurched ever right-wingier, this happened:
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak apologized Wednesday for the treatment of gay veterans, saying a previous ban on LGBTQ+ people serving in the U.K. military was "an appalling failure of the British state." The apology came after an independent review published Wednesday estimated that hundreds of veterans were dismissed or suffered under an official ban on homosexuality in the British armed forces that was enforced until 2000. "As today’s report makes clear, in that period many endured the most horrific sexual abuse and violence, homophobic bullying and harassment, all while bravely serving this country," Sunak told Parliament. “Today, on behalf of the British state, I apologize."
And here in the United States, where the right-wing has fallen off the right-wing map, this happened:
Republicans in the United States House of Representatives have passed an annual defense funding bill that highlights the party’s conservative priorities [including] anti-LGBTQ, anti-diversity and anti-abortion rights provisions. … The amendments pushed through by House Republicans included gutting diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the Department of Defense. It banned flying pro-LGBTQ flags at military bases and ended funding for transgender-related medical services.
Might be time to reconsider this whole independence thing. I’m starting to think “Don’t tread on me” was actually a punchline.
-
Ten years ago in C&J: July 20, 2013
CHEERS to Doc Barack. If you're near a TV or a livestream this morning, the President will be promoting Obamacare and swatting away whiny Republican objections to it (they repealed it for the 38th and 39th time in the House yesterday, and your tax dollars pay for those numbnuts' salaries). This comes a day after some New Yorkers learned that, thanks to Obamacare, their premiums will be chopped off at the knees. (And if you've ever seen the bill for knee re-attachment surgery, you know it costs an arm and a leg.) Obama's remarks will start promptly at 11:25. The tea party caucus's whining about tyranny and out-of-control communism will start promptly at 11:25:01.
-
And just one more…
CHEERS to the master of suspense. Three years ago I vowed to keep you regularly updated on the progress on one of former President Donald J. Trump's signature promises. On July 16th, 2020, he vowed that he was going to ride through all the towns in all of the United Stateses of Americas and give presents to all the good little peasants. Reported AP writer Jill Colvin at the time:
Trump says he'll be announcing "many exciting things" over the next 8 weeks, "things that nobody has even contemplated, thought about, thought possible," with "levels of detail and levels of thought that a lot of people believed very strongly we didn't have in this country."
Yes, yes, yes, we realize that it's been a lot more than eight weeks. But, to be fair, it takes a long time to plan an exciting thing, let alone "many" of them. So while we continue to wait for the ex-president to unveil his un-contemplatable things of great detail, C&J will continue opening each morning's little door on our Many Exciting Things Advent Calendar to see what un-contemplatable goodie he's left inside for us. I plucked out the morsel for Day 1,103, and all I can say is, don’t eat it. It's not chocolate.
Have a nice Thursday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
-
Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial "Jack Smith splashing in the Cheers and Jeers kiddie pool is a message to Donald Trump. With no words and a simple $5 inflatable rubber ducky around his waist, saying I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. —John King, CNN
-
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/7/20/2182043/-Cheers-and-Jeers-Thursday
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/
