From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
"Get a job…"
As the nation focuses on the federal budget unveiled by the White House yesterday, we Mainers are looking at the one unveiled by our governor, Paul LePage. You can guess what it looks like, and our Democratic party chairman, Ben Grant (via email), has the Cliffs Notes summary:
"He plans to stall investment in our aging infrastructure when we know those projects have a huge impact on our jobs environment. He plans to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy on the backs of those with fixed incomes, when we know the best thing for our economy is to put as much money as possible in the pockets of working people. Even more troubling is Governor LePage's continued reliance on stereotype and anecdote to drive important policy. Urging people to go "get a job" is not an economic development plan---and is insulting to the thousands of Mainers who can't find work, despite their best efforts."
Yeah, that's what LePage said when he unveiled his budget last week: "Those who can work, we will simply ask them to get a job." Presto---just like that.
Saturday the Portland Press Herald published an entire page of letters to the editor---sixteen in all---by Mainers who've had it up to 'here' with our tea party governor. A sample:
Does Gov. LePage believe Maine can pollute its way to prosperity?
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During his campaign, Gov. LePage promised to put "people before politics," but his first set of red tape reforms shows his slogan should have been "profits before people."
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It doesn’t take an Ivy League diploma to demonstrate class and dignity. But it obviously does take something [Gov. LePage] simply doesn’t have. It's going to be a long four years.
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[A]fter years of setting an example on environmental issues, Maine is now committed to adopting the lowest standards permitted under federal law.
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I felt a sense of pride in Gov. LePage's personal realization of the American dream. Regrettably, that pride diminished when I read the manner in which he contemptuously dismissed the NAACP as just another "special interest" unworthy of his time or attention.
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[A]s a retiree who recently moved to Maine, I came here for the natural beauty and the shared respect for natural resources. I’d have moved to Texas or China if I wanted to see the effects of lax environmental standards.
Ouch. We ain't no dummies, Guv'nor. Meanwhile, just to show that we can keep up with the crazies in other states, Maine may soon become the proud parent of a bouncing baby birther bill. Even our lobsters are doing facepalms. (And if their claws are hardshell, probably regretting it.)
But in defense of our little Pine Tree State circus act: at least no one here's threatening to call out the National Guard on anyone. Then again, who knows? It's early.
Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Note: For the time being, links will not be opening in a new window when you click on 'em, caress 'em or just talk dirty to 'em. To open a link in a new window, just right-click and select the option that reads: "Open In New Window, I Command Thee From the Hellfires of Mount Doom!!!" C&J regrets the inconvenience and has thrown a lightning bolt at tech support.
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til spring: 33
Days `til the Maine Boatbuilders Show in Portland: 31
Percent rise in strokes among, respectively, men and women 15-34 between 1994 and 2010: 51%, 17%
Percent rise in strokes among, respectively, men and women over 65 during the same time period: 25%, 28%
(Source: American Stroke Association via AP)
Minimum number of U.S. congressmen who live/sleep in their offices: 30
(Source: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington)
Percent of respondents to a Parade poll who admitted to lying to their spouse about the cost of something they bought: 72%
Percent of the time I've asked my partner Michael if I can have a quarter for the gumball machine at the supermarket, and then blown it on either a jawbreaker or magic glow-in-the-dark bouncy ball: 47%
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Tuesday Words of Wisdom from the Right-wing Blogosphere:
Arizona Senator Jon Kyl to Retire I have the most horrible feeling they may try and get Giffords husband or someone involved in the shootings to run for this on the rat side. I would not put it past them to try it.
---Commenter smar at Free Republic
All together now: One…two…three… Classy!!!
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Puppy Pic of the Day: Temple of Woof
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CHEERS to the spoiler. And while we're on the subject of Maine politics, I just ain't buyin' it that Olympia Snowe is in any real danger up here. At least not yet. Because, as of a couple days ago, her main competition in the primary seems to be a gentleman who, judging by this photo, appears to be adept at tying a cherry stem into a knot with his tongue. Andrew Ian Dodge made the announcement at the CPAC thingee, and Snowe's chief of staff pounced:
"It seems ironic that a candidate who says Senator Snowe is out of touch formally announces his own candidacy at a conference in Washington, D.C.---away from the people in the state of Maine he says he wants to represent."
With the Tea Party Express casting its shadow on Maine's door in anticipation of a full-on "Snowe fight" (Ha! Funny.) in 2012, it'll be interesting to see how this plays out. I still think she's relatively safe, in part because enough voters understand the leverage she wields in D.C., and the power she'll have if the Senate flips. The numbers don’t appear to suggest that, so call it a Billy hunch. Hope I'm wrong, though, because if a Democrat ends up going against Andrew Ian Roger Dodger, we win in a walk.
P.S. Free idea for Mr. Dodge: take Carly Fiorina's "Demon sheep" ad and turn it into a…demon Snowe owl!!! You're welcome.
JEERS to queries that make me queasy. Talk about railroading your viewers! A CNN reporter yesterday looked in the camera and asked her viewers to go to her site and answer the question: "What would it take to convince Americans to cut Social Security and Medicare?" What????? Talk about injecting your own personal bias into a question. Might as well ask, "What would it take to convince Americans to live their senior years in poverty and treat their cancer with gumdrops?" Gee, what would it would take to convince Americans to get your ass fired, anchor lady? More poll questions like that one, I expect.
JEERS to the original hippie. 75 years ago today, Adolf "Moonchild" Hitler announced the introduction of the Volkswagen (German for "Grind it `til you find it"). It was small, cheap, and if the battery died you could roll it down the street to recharge it. Sounds like me on a Saturday night.
JEERS to budgetmania. Oh, gawd, here we go again. President Obama unveiled his budget yesterday, and now the mammoth, epic battle for the soul of western civilization begins as Republicans and Democrats fight over…crumbs, mostly:
When Congress takes up President Obama's fiscal 2012 budget, the debate will center on just a fraction of the overall $3.7 trillion budget: his proposals on spending and how to pay for them. Not counting what the government spends on national security and social safety-net programs such as Medicare and Social Security, spending on other domestic programs accounts for just 12% of the overall budget.
My most important tool as I follow the back and forth between camps: the mute button.
JEERS to the CPAmnesiaC convention. Quick! Name one thing you remember from last year's CPAC convention! Yeah…me neither. So it'll come as no surprise next year when I ask the same question and get the same mass-shrug about this year's bed-bug infested (really) and media over-covered yelling conference. In the meantime, here's a quick recap: "Gloom! Doom! The Muslim Brotherhood wants your precious bodily fluids---and they're somewhere in this room! Repeal anything that moves! Reclaim something something something! Restore something else something else and something else! What the hell is Donald Trump doing here? I dunno, but he's shiny so I like him! Egypt? Never heard of it. " In the end it was three days of vapid ideas, conspiracy theories and barely-concealed horror at how weak the 2012 GOP field is. But at least they sold a few crappy bumper stickers. Awesome.
CHEERS to Homer's alter ego. Happy 57th Birthday to 'The Simpsons' creator Matt Groening, born on this date in 1954. In the C&J cafeteria today: 50-cent Duffs. ("Woo Hoo!") For five bucks. ("Doh!")
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Five years ago in C&J: February 15, 2006
CHEERS to Olympic curling. Skips! Hackweights! Double roll-ins! Of all the events I've seen this year, these guys are the most fascinating to watch. In case you're wondering why their wives excuse them from housecleaning, it's because they keep sweeping holes in the linoleum.
JEERS to the money-siphoning boogeyman-aversion machine. In order to protect our troops from harm, the military has spent $363 million over 10 years kicking 10,000 gay soldiers out of the service. Let's see...that money would've paid for approximately half a million 700-dollar Kevlar vests. Glad we didn't waste our money on those.
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And just one more…
CHEERS to rudeness in paperback. I've been waiting for the first must-buy dirty-fucking-hippie book of 2011. It's finally here, and it's by one of the funniest, angriest bloggers in Bloggerland. Behold The Rude Pundit's Almanack:
You wanna get to know the potential 2012 Republicans candidates in the rudest way possible? You wanna learn fun facts about the Founders that'll make your teabagger co-workers' heads pop off? You wanna read stories about the Rude Pundit's encounters with different conservatives? You wanna see photos from the Rude Pundit's return to the same Katrina-hit areas of Louisiana that he covered five years ago? And you want it all in a way that'll make you angry, aroused, and amused?
Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes…and the Rude One delivers. More info and order-placing here. Ronco Delicate Sensibilities Shield sold separately.
Oh, and happy 42nd birthday to grizzled, tenacious Josh Marshall, grand poobah at Talking Points Memo. And many blessings on your investigative camels. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
For mapmakers and surveyors, Cheers and Jeers is one of the most important spots on the continent. From this point, all distances in North America are measured.
---Beccy Tanner
McClatchy News
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