From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
Three Days
I think the shelves at art supply stores are going to be emptied again, like they were a year ago after the Women’s March. This is the current map showing the March for Our Lives events scheduled for Saturday. Holy f*ck the NRA, Batman, that’s gonna be a lot of handmade signage…
Over 750 U.S. communities will be demanding action on the part of our calcified political class to do some damn meaningful things to cut down on the unacceptable level of gun violence in this country. Plus over 70 events in other countries that stare at us with their jaws on the floor and wonder why obstructionist Republicans still find the gun makers’ kool-aid so delicious in the face of so much carnage.
You can access the map at this link to find the march near you. The March for Our Lives home page is here.
C&J will be joining the marchers in Portland, Maine Saturday. Not sure what our signs are gonna say yet. (If you have suggestions, post ‘em in the comments.) But one thing we do know: the kids will be up front, and we’ll be following their lead.
Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Note: The C&J dry-cleaning service has been discontinued on account of we got kinda lazy. Your stuff's out in the garage under the cat.
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til the midterm elections: 229
Days 'til the USA Science and Engineering Festival in DC: 17
Length of the list of goods that the European Union has targeted for tariffs, in retaliation for Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum: 10 pages
Percent chance that Kentucky Bourbon, Wisconsin cranberries, Florida orange juice and North Carolina tobacco are on the list: 100%
Distance from the ocean shore that states control, which could make it difficult if not impossible for oil companies to drill offshore if states don’t want them to: 3 miles
Value of the container goods that came in to the port of Portland, Maine last year, an amount that has doubled over the last five years: $503 million
Percent chance the Senate Commerce Committee is investigating Cambridge Analytica's parent company and Facebook about the weaponizing of the social media giant on behalf of Trump: 100%
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Mid-week Rapture Index: 184 (including 5 gogs and 1 god speaking obnoxiously loud to Rowan County clerk Kim Davis). Soul Protection Factor 8 lotion is recommended if you’ll be walking amongst the heathen today.
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Puppy Pic of the Day: Congressman-elect Conor Lamb gives hero dog skritches…
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CHEERS to Marie Newman. She gave it a good run, bolstered by a lot of solid allies and a progressive vision. Alas, it just wasn’t enough to knock DINO Dan Lipinski off his throne in Illinois’ gerrymandered 3rd congressional district last night. But it was as squeaky a primary as a squeaker gets, and Lipinski barely escaped with both butt cheeks intact. Here’s a quick look at his primaries of recent years:
2016: Unopposed
2014: Unopposed
2012: Won 87%-12%
2010: Won 78%-22%
That’s called sleepwalking through your career. Now consider last night’s results: 50.8 percent to Marie Newman’s 49.2 percent. That’s terrible news for Lipinski’s chances in 2020, and I hope Marie is planning on a rematch. As for what happens next in IL-03: Lipinski the wounded blue dog will sleepwalk through the general because his Republican opponent will be a walking, talking, Fourth Reich-hawking Nazi. Although I admit it may be hard to resist his official slogan: “A panzer in every garage and a strudel in every pot.”
CHEERS to the Nailbiter Heard Round the World. I remember it like it was just 2,920 days ago…mainly because I think it was. On March 21, 2010, after a huge amount of debate, number-crunching and input from the entire health care and insurance industry, the Nancy Pelosi-led House passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
And what a collection of moments we saw...from blue dog Bart Stupak's grandstanding over abortion, to John Dingell showing off his historic Medicare gavel, to the House leadership locking arms and walking through a canopy of teabaggers like the protagonists of The Wizard of Oz skipping down the yellow brick road, to the hecklers that created "mass hysteria" (Barney Frank's words), and finally the moment that nobody wanted to arrive because they were all having so much darn fun: the 219-212 vote shortly before midnight. There was still work to do in the Senate, but this was nothing less than historic. Last year Republicans failed in their attempt to destroy it (though they succeeded in stripping out the mandate in their daylight robbery posing as a middle-class tax cut), claiming that the ACA was killing the insurance industry and the public hated it. But Bruce Japsen at Forbes begs to differ:
New polls show the public’s opinion of the ACA becoming more favorable, hitting an all-time high in one survey out last week.The Kaiser Family Foundation had 54% with a "favorable view" of the ACA, the“highest share in more than 80 tracking polls ” since President Barack Obama signed the landmark legislation into law in 2010.
The new surveys showing improving Obamacare popularity come as plans offering coverage are getting their financial footing. Insurers Are talking about Obamacare expansions and reducing rates for 2019.
Cigna, Centene and Anthem have been among the publicly-traded insurers that have forecast improving profits for 2018 in their individual business that includes Obamacare.
Today Democrats will mark the occasion with quiet reflection on a job well done and signups & savings that are still above expectations. Republicans will mark the occasion by gnawing the bark off a tree.
JEERS to Mother Nature head-fakes. Big-time rains out west. Tornadoes down south. And heads up, east coasters: it may be the first full day of spring, but someone forgot to tell that to the winter storm in the process of whackin' ya real good. Here's the latest map from the National Weather Service, a fine socialist-style branch of the federal government:
At its height it's gonna be falling so thick and fast that you won’t be able to see your hand in front of your face. But enough about the blizzard of right-wing drivel about global cooling. We hear the snow’s gonna be pretty deep, too.
JEERS to hypocrite roll call. In the wake of the bombshell news that, taking after his father, Donald Trump, Jr. had an affair while he was married, let’s check in with the stern conservative evangelical leaders and see just how badly they intend to rake Junior over the coals for violating the 7th Commandment without so much as an “Oopsie”:
“Mulligan.”
---Jerry Falwell, Jr.
“Mulligan.”
---Franklin Graham
“Mulligan.”
---Pat Robertson
“Mulligan.”
---James Dobson
“Mulligan.”
---Jim Bakker
“Mulligan.”
---Tony Perkins
And, by God, if he does it again he’s gonna get a sternly-worded letter.
JEERS to how far we've fallen. On March 21, 1790, Thomas Jefferson reported to President Washington as America's first Secretary of State, during which he grappled with weighty and complex issues related to the debt, foreign affairs and the location of the new U.S. Capitol. Last week a fatigue-prone, Russia-worshipping oil baron got fired by President Donald Trump as our latest Secretary of State while he was sitting on the toilet. I had a punchline all set to go for this item, but it just walked out onto our roof and jumped.
JEERS to wallowing in swamp. What city do Republicans love to bash even more than San Francisco? Washington, D.C., of course. So where do they hold their big CPAC convention every year? Washington, D.C., of course. And where is the just-announced inaugural “American Priority Conference”---a gathering of America Firsters, “Jews will not replace us” types, and confused libertarians---going to convene in September? Washington, D.C., of course. Meanwhile, what’s the one city where you’ll never find the liberal Netroots Nation convention, which has convened in Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Las Vegas, Providence, Austin, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, San Jose, Phoenix and Atlanta, plus this year’s is happening in New Orleans? Why, Washington, D.C., of course. Everything you’ve just read has all led up to this: “Knock knock.” “Who’s there?” “Orange.” “Orange who?” “Orange you glad I didn’t say Washington, D.C.?!!” (If you need me today, I’ll be next to my candlestick phone waiting for a call from the Mark Twain Prize people.)
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Ten years ago in C&J: March 21, 2008
CHEERS to the Rocket Man. Author Arthur C. Clarke has died at 90. He got an Oscar nomination for adapting his 1951 short story into the screenplay for 2001:A Space Odyssey, in which a bunch of apes break things and the viewer is taken for a long, scary, incomprehensible ride. How he foresaw the rise of modern conservatism so early is beyond me.
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And just one more…
CHEERS to#McConnelling. That was the Twitter hashtag Jon Stewart created four years ago this month, accompanied by an invitation to add new background music to Mitch McConnell's bizarre "softer side of Mitch" reelection ad. This is a reminder that mockery of the powerful may not always win elections, but it sure is fun:
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If you find yourself watching it over and over for more than four hours, see your doctor. Probably the psychiatrist kind.
Have a creepy smiley Wednesday. :) Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
There’s Another Cheers and Jeers Coming Because This Is Our Life Now
---Gizmodo
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