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Cheers and Jeers: Wednesday [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-07-30

They'll Be Brief

Lost in all the hubbub of war and pestilence and the Republicans’ pedophilia problem were this year’s Webby awards—recognizing the best of the internet—that were handed out a modern-day lifetime ago: last May. My favorite part is the acceptance speeches, which are limited to five words. (I believe the orchestra starts playing them off the stage at word #3). Here are some of the best of this year’s batch: “Only organized outrage overcomes oppression.” —Congresswoman Jasmine Crocket (D-TX), who received—to a standing ovation—the Webby Advocate of the Year Award to recognize “her use of platforms to drive national conversations, mobilize communities, and champion the rights of marginalized groups across the Internet and beyond. “Artificial intelligence must benefit humanity.” —Dr. Fei-Fei Li “AI’s cool. People are cooler.” —Robert Wong “Retirement—the enemy of longevity.” —Howard Tucker (Oldest practicing doctor) “Dad, it’s Shopify, not Spotify.” —Maggie Fost (Creative Director, Shopify) “Because the truth is golden.” —Ben, Brett, and Jordan Meiselas of The Meidas Touch, winners of the Best Podcast of the Year award for their “groundbreaking contributions to digital political commentary and cultural advocacy.” “Who run the world? Squirrels!” —Derrick Downey Jr. (Social Animals Award, author of Hand and Paw) The Oscars should be so succinct.

And now, our feature presentation...

Cheers and Jeers for Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Note: Whoever can guess what the mystery breakfast meat is in the C&J cafeteria this morning by taste alone gets a free ride to the ER. —Chef Jeff

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By the Numbers:

6 days!!!

Days 'til election day 2025: 97

Days 'til Wisconsin's 67th Cobb Corn Roast: 6

Prison sentence for former Ohio cop Adam Coy, who was found guilty of murder for shooting and killing unarmed Andre Hill in 2020: 15 years to life

National vacancy rate for apartments in the 2nd quarter of 2025: 7%

Age of political satirist Tom Lehrer when he died over the weekend: 97

List price of actress Bette Davis's 7,600-square-foot coastal home in Cape Elizabeth Maine: $15 million

Year Bette Davis was a volunteer lifeguard at the beach in Ogunquit, Maine: 1926

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Mid-week Rapture Index: 182 (including 3 Satanisms and 1 Oklahoma Schools Superintendent who loves them nekkid ladies). Soul Protection Factor 12 lotion is recommended if you’ll be walking amongst the heathen today.

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Puppy Pic of the Day: Two little brats doing what little brats do…

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CHEERS to Billeh's Wednesday Tariff, Deadline, and Trump-Epstein Scandal Update. For reasons involving space and time, we have to combine all three of our updates into one. Here's the latest:

Tariffs: 15 percent, 45 percent, 100 percent,1,000 percent. Subject to change without notice upon modification of Adderall dosage. Deadlines: 1 day, 2 weeks, 30 days, the next period of time, the next short period of time, 50 days, 10-12 days, very quickly, very quickly and beautifully, very quickly and beautifully and powerfully and perfectly, very soon, six weeks, three weeks. Trump-Epstein Scandal: Donald J. Trump, who has been very clear about not wanting to date any female under the age of 13, palled around as the best friend of a known pedophile who destroyed the lives of hundreds of girls via sexual assault, and his name is all over the Epstein files. He is currently manipulating the Justice Department to destroy evidence implicating him, creating fake evidence exonerating him, and engaging in witness tampering with Epstein's partner in crime—a woman much older than 13 currently serving a prison sentence—in (pardon the pun) broad daylight. Joe Rogan and Elon Musk, who rule our world, both say this stinks to high heaven and want the files sitting on AG Pam Bondi's desk to be released.

And that's today's update. Join us for tomorrow's update, which will look a lot like today's except maybe we'll spring for an emoji.

JEERS to going nukular. As a rebirth in the nuclear power industry arises out of the need for massive amounts of energy to power Artificial Intelligence—aka humanity's future vanquishers—Japan offers up a stark reminder that the source of that power is nasty, nasty stuff. Remember the nuclear disaster they had back in 2011? Fourteen years later their optimism about a neat and tidy cleanup remains, as all things nuclear do, a simmering and cruel joke:

The Japanese operator of the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Tuesday said the start of full-scale removal of melted fuel debris will be delayed for several years until 2037 or later, the latest setback underscoring the challenges ahead. Why, this could NEVER happen here. We’re Americans! The Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, or TEPCO, said it will need 12 to 15years of preparation before starting full-scale removal of melted fuel debris at the No. 3 reactor. That preparation includes reducing radiation levels and building necessary facilities in and around the reactor. […] The delay again sets back the 2051 target set by Japan's government and TEPCO for decommissioning the plant. A test retrieval of a tiny sample of melted fuel debris in November was already three years behind, and some experts estimate that the decommissioning work could take more than a century.

And here's a fun fact: the Plutonium 239 used at the Fukushima plant has a half-life of 24,000 years. So we'll stick a pin in this item, and if one of you could have your great great great (x 100) grandkids look into this and give our readers an update in the year 26011, we sure would appreciate it.

CHEERS to signature events. Today marks the 60th anniversary of a milestone that reminds us what a Democratic president and solid Democratic majorities in Congress can accomplish—something that wasn't a slam dunk until late in the game. You know it, you love it, millions can't live without it. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you MEDICARE...

The legislative logjam finally broke with the election of 1964, which swept LBJ into the White House behind large Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress. Shortly after that election, a breakthrough occurred when House Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Wilbur Mills (D-Ark.), who had previously blocked Medicare proposals, said, "I can support a payroll tax for financing health benefits just as I have supported a payroll tax for cash benefits." Johnson signs, Truman watches. When the long-stalled Medicare effort came before the 89th Congress in January 1965, congressional leaders designated the bills as H.R. 1 and S. 1. Despite determined resistance by organized medicine and some of its congressional allies, the Medicare bill moved forward. A Mills rewrite cleared the House on April 8 by 313-115. The Senate approved its version on July 9 by 68-21. A conference committee labored for more than a week in mid-July to reconcile 513 differences between the two chambers. At the [July 30] White House bill-signing ceremony, Johnson enrolled [Harry] Truman as the first Medicare beneficiary and presented him with the nation’s first Medicare card.

It'll be interesting to see what historians write in 2070 on the 60th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, which adds another pillar of support to that Democratic Party-built structure and is still standing despite active Republican sabotage. I'm optimistic that with steady management and intelligent tweaking, it'll be deemed a success. Of course, the ultimate proof will be revealed in the number of GOP yahoos yelling, "Keep your government hands off my Affordable Care Act!" I think I may join them—I'll be 101 and it'll be a fine way to test out the battering ram on my motorized scooter.

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BRIEF SANITY BREAK

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END BRIEF SANITY BREAK

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JEERS to the politics of fear. Sixty-nine years ago today—July 30, 1956—to ward off evil Communist spirits, the phrase "In God We Trust" became our country's national motto, a move led by a Democratic congressman—Charles E. Bennett:

He proposed putting the phrase “In God We Trust,” which began appearing on coins in 1864, on all paper and coin currency. “In these days when imperialistic and materialistic communism seeks to attack and destroy freedom, we should continually look for ways to strengthen the foundations of our freedom,” he declared on the House floor.

Personally, I prefer our other motto which, if I’m remembering my 3rd-grade civics lessons correctly, is "e pluribus sponge cakes et creamy filling unum Box of Twinkies.” But the way things are going in this country, it might as well be Добро пожаловать в Путинский театр. Извините, у нас нет туалетной бумаги. In English: ”Welcome to Putin’s Playhouse. Sorry, we’re out of toilet paper.”

CHEERS to today's edition of You’re Preachin’ to the Choir, Lady. Scottish protester June Osbourne of Edinburgh:

“I think there are far too many countries that are feeling the pressure of Trump and that they feel that they have to accept him, and we should not accept him here. [Trump is] the worst thing that has happened to the world, the U.S., in decades.”

This has been today's edition of You’re Preachin’ to the Choir, Lady.

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Ten years ago in C&J: July 30, 2015

CHEERS to equality in uniform. A year after lifting the ban on openly-gay youth among their ranks, the Boy Scouts of America has voted overwhelmingly to allow openly-gay do-gooders to be part of the leadership structure in the BSA. Most troops have no problem with the change—in fact many are welcoming it. (My partner Michael and I are Eagle Scouts, and we honestly never thought we'd see the day.) There are, of course, the far-right types—the Mormon Church in particular is not happy—who are bracing for their kids to come home from jamborees in black leather chaps and/or draped in feather boas. But Scouts across the country are living up to the Scout Motto, "Be Prepared," and are ready and willing to help the bigots cross the decades.

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And just one more…

CHEERS to red meat that's not the political kind. 125 years ago this week, reportedly while trying to piss off his vegan neighbor, Louis Lassen invented the humble hamburger in New Haven, Connecticut. Louis' Lunch is still in business and kickin' it old-school:

The beginnings of the hamburger sandwich as we all know it today was really quite simple. One day in 1900, a gentleman hurriedly walked into Louis' Lunch and told proprietor Louis Lassen he was in a rush and wanted something he could eat on the run. In an instant, Louis placed his own blend of ground steak trimmings between two slices of toast and sent the gentleman on his way. And so, the most recognizable American sandwich was born. What the original hamburger looked like. (And at Louis’ Lunch, it still does.) Today, Louis' great grandson, Jeff Lassen, carries on the tradition. The hamburgers have changed little from their historic prototype and remain the specialty of the house. Burgers are made fresh daily; hand-rolled from a proprietary blend of five meat varieties and cooked to order in the original cast-iron grills dating back to 1898. The Lassen family holds firm on their desire not to offer any condiments. The Louis Lunch experience is about the taste and simplicity of a fresh burger grilled to perfection. Cheese, tomato, and onion are the only acceptable garnish.

So happy birthday to the hamburger, for 125 years the quintessential representation of America's diet until Trump’s economic policies force us to replace it with cat food. (And, yes, I would like fries with that.)

Have a happy humpday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?

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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial “During my tenure here in Cheers and Jeers, I have repeatedly relayed to you that things are happening that have shocked me down to my core. Bill in Portland Maine cannot run a kiddie pool like this. I’ll never be the same after learning what I’ve splashed in." —Dan Bongino

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