From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE...
To clarify...
In yesterday's C&J we praised John Aravosis at Americablog for helping to persuade Microsoft to reverse its position and come out in support of a gay rights bill in Washington State. C&J reader "ltrs" took issue with that:
"Microsoft reversed its position because Microsoft employees, particularly GLEAM (Gay and Lesbian Employees At Microsoft), but other employees as well, Equal Rights Washington (the state's largest GLBT political advocacy organization), HRC (the nation's largest GLBT political advocacy organization), prominent local activists, and local and federal legislators (including Jay Inslee, Patty Murray, and Maria Cantwell) organized campaigns, wrote letters, issued press releasers, made statements, and otherwise brought pressure to bear on the company for their decision."
Good point. For the record, I did not mean to imply that a single blog was the only thing that motivated Microsoft to reverse itself. It was certainly due to the consortium of people and organizations listed above---and others---whose combined efforts put enough pressure on the company to make it change course (even John makes this clear in one of his posts, and offers praise to GLEAM and others).
At the same time, I won't back down from my praise of John---and other bloggers who picked up the story---for doggedly helping spread the word and debunking the PR spin coming out of Microsoft's headquarters. I can't believe that the outpouring of blog-inspired letters, calls and emails from all over the country wasn't a factor in Microsoft's decision. But it was just that: one factor among many. So CHEERS to everybody who had a hand---big or small---in helping the software giant see the error of its ways. May you all serve as a cautionary tale to other corporations who might be thinking about getting all soft and squishy when it comes to supporting civil rights.
Cheers and Jeers squishes on in There's Moreville... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Tuesday, May 10, 2005...
Note: This has been a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. If this had been an actual emergency, we would be panic-binging on Cocoa Puffs, Oreos and Häagen Dazs.
By the Numbers:
Days `til `Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith': 9
Days `til Father's Day: 40
Months C&J has been posting as of today: 17
Estimated number of blogs "out there": 9 million
Number of new blogs created every day: 40,000
(Source: BusinessWeek)
Percent of women who think clean-shaven men are the best: 58%
Percent of women who say the first thing they notice in men is their hair: 42%
(Source: Men's Health/Cosmopolitan survey)
Your Puppy Pic of the Day So the question is, who's getting ready to walk who?
CHEERS to smart jiu jitsu. Senate minority leader Harry Reid says he's willing to allow one of Bush's judicial nominees---the one practicing law without a license---to go to the floor for debate as a gesture of goodwill. Joshua Holland at the Gadflyer says it's not just a smart play...it's "genius". Your move, GOP.
CHEERS to Andy Menconi. The San Francisco dude is the winner of MoveOn PAC's "Bush in 30 years" campaign (judges included Al Franken and Arianna Huffington). His anti-Social-Security-gutting flash entry is well worth a look. We would've added more explosions and a sex scene, but why quibble?.
JEERS to the thin red line. (Via The White Rose Society) As this simple graph shows, the U.S. casualty count in Iraq keeps moving in the wrong goddam direction. And still no one at the top gets fired...only promoted or given a medal. What a lovely little war.
CHEERS to Republicans who say what we're thinking. A group of Arkansas-based white supremacists came to Boston to disrupt a Sunday holocaust remembrance event at Fanuel Hall. Governor Mitt Romney...[now settle down, let me finish]...who attended the event, minced no words: "I wish they'd go back home where they came from and bury themselves under the rocks that they crawled out from." We think that deserves a light smattering of applause. Okay, that's enough...we now return you to our regularly scheduled scorn.
JEERS to the Creepiest Guy of the Day. James "Horndog" West, the anti-gay mayor of Spokane, Washington, is taking a leave of absence (read: fleeing) because he got caught soliciting sex from boys in gay chat rooms. He's been described as a member of the hard right. But's it's nothing a little novocain and a hacksaw can't fix. (On second thought, skip the novocain.)
CHEERS to your pop quiz of the day. One of these two world leaders---both of whom have access to nuclear launch codes---knows how to use an umbrella. Can you guess which one it is? To find out who it's not, Click here. A gold star for you!
JEERS to choking on your own fumes. The latest Urban Mobility Report says that traffic jams are getting worse, not better. Travel delays in 2003 totalled 3.7 billion hours. Now I know why big SUVs are so popular. For millions of people they're a second home.
CHEERS to Joe and Jane Q. Citizen. This is rather amazing: North Carolina's Supreme Court has ruled that government agencies in that state can't sue citizens who request records or access to meetings. Attorney Hugh Stevens says he hopes the case will "make it unnecessary for other citizens of North Carolina to spend thousands of dollars of their own money ... to vindicate their First Amendment rights and stop this type of abuse of government power." Like I said...amazing.
JEERS to scaring away the kids. Thanks to the quagmire that is Iraq, military recruiting goals were down by 42 percent in April. Meanwhile, Newsweek reports that a plan for the Army to "absorb" downsized Navy and Air Force members has yielded 189 conversions out of a pool of 27,000. Kos floated a great idea yesterday of having the war-loving, right-wing preachers encourage their flocks' young'uns to enlist in the noble cause. How `bout it, Robertson? Falwell? Dobson? Sheldon? Bueller??
CHEERS to bulldogs unleashed. On May 10, 1940, Winston Churchill was called in to replace Neville Chamberlain as British prime minister after Mr. "Peace in our time" lost a confidence vote
in the House of Commons. He offered blood, sweat, toil and tears in the run-up to war. As opposed to Tony Blair, who offered lies, deception, stonewalling and fake evidence. Potato, puhtahto.
JEERS to dissing Willie. State senators in Texas---GOP ones, `natch---nixed naming a 49-mile stretch of toll Highway 130 after Willie Nelson. The jerks cited 3 reasons: His drinking, his pot-smoking...and the fact that he campaigned for Democrat Dennis Kucinich. Nelson says he wasn't interested anyway: "Toll roads are not that popular. I'd put my name on an electric chair, too, but I don't think that'd be too great a thing." Besides, the electric chairs are reserved for corporate sponsors only.
CHEERS to stuff that ain't politics. Tired of all the political BS? Escape to your living room couch with a new DVD. This week's releases: Bill Murray in `The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou' and the remake of John Carpenter's `Assault on Precinct 13.' Or you could rent the special edition release of '12 Monkeys,' now with even more footage of the Bush cabinet in action.
C&J Flashback: May 10, 2004...
JEERS to Joe Lieberman. Boo Hoo. At Abu Ghraib torture hearings, he infers a link between Iraq and al Qaeda by wondering aloud: Why, oh why, has no one apologized to us for 9/11? Joe Conason says he's become a "low-rent Sean Hannity." Ouch.
JEERS to weightless words. Rumsfeld speaks on Abu Ghraib: "I take full responsibility." Okay, so why are you still here? [5/10/05 Update: Okay, so why are you still here?]
And just one more...
CHEERS to "block"-busters. Forget work---go watch `Revenge of the Brick,' a sneak peek at the new Star Wars movie...done Lego-style. Bravo, guys.
Floor's open. What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless Testimonial:
"My goodness, you've got 100 United States senators. Some of us might be moderately intelligent enough to figure Cheers and Jeers out."
Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.)
5/8/05
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