From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
Energize An Ally Tuesday
Seems like it was ages ago, but it’s only been 24 days since the historic March for Our Lives events brought millions of Americans into the streets to advocate for sensible gun-reform measures and put the fear of God into the political class. The next nationwide events happen this Friday---the 19th anniversary of the massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. These events will be more low-key, but no less powerful.
There’s the National School Walkout, at 10am local time, during which participants “will take 13 seconds of silence to honor the 13 killed at Columbine High School. After that an open mic will commence where students can have their voices heard.” Columbine High School is holding its annual day of service “as a way to hope and remember,” and they’re calling on schools across the country to follow suit. And the Network for Public Education is promoting a National Day of Action to Prevent Gun Violence in Schools. If you hit the link, you’ll see a list of proposed legislative action items that are fast becoming the standard for what it will take to knock down the ridiculously-high number of bullets entering human bodies every day in this country. Among them:
» Banning assault weapons and large capacity magazines.
» Universal background checks, which requires closing the gun show loophole.
» Expanding state/federal reporting cooperation regarding disqualification from possessing firearms.
» Revising and tightening laws regarding possession including raising the minimum age to 21.
» Requiring the licensing and registration of guns in all states.
» Federal funding for school security measures, with needs determined by communities.
» Increased funding for mental health services, bullying prevention, conflict resolution, restorative justice programs and programs that help students identify and report those who threaten violent actions.
Election day is in 203 short days. Lawmakers at the state and federal level ignore these common-sense measures, and Friday’s events, at their peril.
Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold...
Cheers and Jeers for Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Note: Washington, D.C. residents: yes, you have to pay taxes in exchange for no representation. But please enjoy the gorgeous views of the Tidal Basin year-round at no extra charge. ---Your Friendly Federal Government
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By the Numbers:
Weeks 'til the special election in Arizona’s 8th congressional district: 1
Days 'til the Nihon Matsuri Japan Festival in Salt Lake City: 11
Number of people left in the dark on Puerto Rico when a tree fell over a power line Thursday: 870,000
Percent of Americans polled by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication who believe schools should teach our children about the causes, consequences, and potential solutions to global warming: 78%
Number of issues with unit cohesion or morale since the ban on transgender servicemembers was lifted, according to the Secretary of the Army: 0
CEO-to-worker pay ratio among the top 100 U.S. companies: 235-to-1
Percent chance that James Comey is on with Stephen Colbert tonight: 100%
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NEW Tuesday feature: “I Love New Orleans!”
Brought to you by the 2018 Netroots Nation Convention in New Orleans, August 2-4. Louisiana is nicknamed the "Pelican State." You’ll never guess why...
Because of the abundance of Brown Pelicans found along the coast of Louisiana, the state is commonly referred to as "The Pelican State." This bird has been a symbol of Louisiana since the arrival of early European settlers who were impressed with the pelican's generous and nurturing attitude toward their young. The pelican is Louisiana's official state bird and appears on the Louisiana state flag and the great seal.
Disaster struck Louisiana in the 1960s when the use of pesticides caused the brown pelican, native to the area, to stop nesting along the Gulf coast. By 1966, the bird had completely disappeared in Louisiana. … This is a story with a happy ending. Protection of the brown pelican's habitat along with re-population efforts resulted in the Federal Government's declaration, in 1995, that the bird had "recovered" in Louisiana.
And remember: if you rent a pelican in Louisiana you have to keep it both on a leash and sober.
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Puppy Pic of the Day: Anybody seen the cat?
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CHEERS to giving in to a major right-wing demand. I’m glad you stopped by C&J today, because you’re about to witness history. Today is the day that I finally listen to Fox News. They’ve been scolding and cajoling me to use their pre-approved vocabulary for so many years that I’ve lost count. But today I have the ultimate reason to say the two words they love most (and 8 months early, no less):
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
GOD BLESS US EVERYONE!!!
Details here. And to answer your question: yes, Fox News has gone into 24/7 sex-crazed panda coverage. And the bottom crawl is all recipes.
CHEERS to the looming blowout. We all know that a number of House seats are going to flip from Republican to Democrat this November. But in some states it could be a cataclysmic event. We take you to the great state of New Jersey:
Every Republican House member from New Jersey is in danger of losing their seat in this year’s midterm election, according to a new Monmouth University poll.
The survey released on Monday finds Democrats with a 19-point advantage statewide on the generic ballot, with 54 percent of respondents saying they plan to or are leaning toward voting for Democrats, compared to only 34 percent for Republicans. Monmouth pollers say this puts all five of New Jersey’s GOP-held seats at risk.
New Jersey residents’ negative view of President Trump is seen as the main factor for these results, according to the poll, and the Republican tax law is another potential cause.
If a president’s popularity is intricately connected to the midterm results (and historically it is), I’ve got some extra-strength Velcro here from Gallup. In yesterday’s weekly tracking poll update, Trump slips from 41 percent approval to 39, with disapproval rising to 55. More devastating: of the 64 weeks he’s been president, Trump has only been above 40 percent for 10 of them. Six of those over-40 weeks were during his first seven weeks in office, and he’s spent zero weeks above 45 percent unless you’re referring to the percent of weekends he’s spent golfing. Coincidentally, also at 45 percent: the number of times per day Nancy Pelosi pats her gavel.
CHEERS and JEERS to paying for vital services (and, unfortunately, non-vital congress critters). Today is Tax Day. If you're part of the 99 percent, today is the day you need to make sure you've sent enough money to the IRS to pay your income taxes. If you're part of the top one percent, however, today is the day you need to make sure you've sent enough money to the Cayman Islands to dodge your income taxes. And if you’re part of Paul Ryan’s DNA, today is the day you need to make sure you spend several hours pointing and laughing at the 99 percent and yelling, “Suckers!” (Because why disrupt your daily routine just because it’s Tax Day?)
CHEERS to masters of the quill, the camera, the shoe leather, and the inquisitive mind. The 2018 Pulitzer Prizes were announced this week. You can see the whole list here. Winners include...
> National reporting: The New York Times and The Washington Post for their coverage of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.
> Public Service: Megan Twohey, Jodi Kantor of The New York Times and Ronan Farrow of New Yorker, for their bombshell coverage of the Harvey Weinstein scandal that brought about the rise of the #MeToo movement
> Breaking News: The Santa Rosa Press Democrat for its coverage of the October wildfires
> Explanatory reporting: The Arizona Republic and USA Today for their reporting on Trump’s fantasy border wall.
> Investigative reporting: The staff of The Washington Post, for exposing Republican sicko Roy Moore’s creepy obsession with underage girls, coverage that helped Democrat Doug Jones win the special senate election.
> Editorial cartooning: Jake Halpern and Michael Sloan of The New York Times.
> Music: Kendrick Lamar for DAMN.
The top prize in fiction went to Less by Andrew Sean Greer. He barely edged out Obamacare Replacement by House Republicans and I Will Build the Most Beautiful Wall and Make Mexico Pay For It Believe Me Believe Me by Donald Trump. C&J got recognition, too---our restraining order was renewed for another 6 months.
P.S.
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CHEERS to Mulvaney…on the move!!! After taking over at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Mick Mulvaney brought all activity at the agency to a halt. But that’s all changed now, America---the Sheriff is back on the beat! This is what you call decisive leadership:
Documents obtained by The Associated Press show the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has spent more than $5,000 frosting the windows on the offices of senior staff in recent months. […]
CFPB receipts show the bureau ordered window frosting film twice, once in September 2017 and again in early February. The frosting film has been used on the offices of the top political staffers as well as conference rooms, according to a person familiar with the matter. This person requested anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak on the record.
Sure, it’s just frosted windows. But the point is, Mulvaney’s CFPB did a thing! Okay, I’m officially calling it: this is a pivot.
CHEERS to Keds of Fire. Yesterday was Patriot's Day, a commemoration of the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord that sparked our War of Independence. The big holiday tradition here in New England, besides the re-floofing of the tri-corn hats, is the running of the 122nd Boston Marathon, and this year was a shocker. Whereas Barack Obama’s deep-state mind-control tricks have been a gold mine for the Kenyan runners for years, this time he just ran out of steam:
American Desi Linden made a charge around mile 21 of Monday's Boston Marathon to become the first American woman to win the race since 1985.
Linden broke away from Kenya's Gladys Chesir and Mamitu Daska of Ethiopia on a rainy and windy Patriots Day at the 35K mark with 2:12:22 elapsed. […]
"I love this city, I love this race, this course," she said.
"It's storybook. I’m thrilled to be here and to get it done."
In the men's race, Yuki Kawauchi of Japan won his first Boston Marathon in 2:15:54. The last Japanese man to win the Boston Marathon was Toshihiko Seko in 1987.
As usual, the winner of the jetpack division, clocking in at a record 2.61 seconds---was Geeky McNerd from MIT, who is expected to make a full recovery from a nasty case of windburn.
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Ten years ago in C&J: April 17, 2008
JEERS to the maverick of unintended consequences. Hey, my friends! John McCain has a brilliant idea for helping you save money: a gas-tax holiday! Yay! It would lower fuel bills while erasing thousands and thousands of American jobs. A chip off the old Bush.
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And just one more…
CHEERS to the Baby Blue Cherub. Everybody stop by and say "Heh indeedy" to Atrios (aka millstone-around-Philadelphia's-neck Duncan Black) today on the 16th anniversary of his Eschaton blog. Few dirty fucking hippies can reduce the traditional media and punditry's wankery to one or two lines of cool-as-a-cucumber snark like this communist peacenik can. He was especially ahead of the curve on the ‘08 economic meltdown and the Iraq debacle, and he led the charge to expand Social Security, a movement with some real traction these days. His latest crusade: predicting the inevitable doom of driverless cars. Besides that, his is a classic, old-fashioned blog that looks the same as it did during the Dark Times of 2002 (although he happily embraced the twitter revolution early on). By the way, this was the moment on April 17, 2002 when he flicked the switch for the first time:
Is this thing on?
by Atrios at 22:13
0 comments
Still is. And if it ever shuts down, civilization is doomed.
Oh, and Boston native Ben Franklin died on this date in 1790. I guess that explains why he never returns my calls. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
“I downloaded the data Bill in Portland Maine has on me. Yikes.”
---Brian X. Chen
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