From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
Showdown in Texas
All eyes that belong to people who care about reproductive freedom will be on Austin, Texas today as a special session of "The Lege" reconvenes with the goal of ramming through a Republican bill that would put puritanical restrictions on abortion services. The internet's most popular 80-something bloggers, Margaret and Helen, have a few words for Governor Rick Perry (and Ohio Governor John Kasich, who signed his own restrictive bill last week):
I see they got their battleship
deck re-planked. Nice.
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I am old enough to remember what happens to women who don’t have access to safe, legal abortions. I lost a few friends in those days. But, I guess if you don’t like women, killing a few is of no concern. Can you imagine the outrage if we were legislating a penis? Would the out-crying of voters be called an unruly mob then? Not a chance. It would be called the Texas Legislature. […]
You know what gets me, Margaret? These holier-than-thou types who have to lie and mislead because people don’t want to buy their brand of religion are nothing more than hypocritical bullies. Just like Jesus taught us: …whoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when you depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet… and then lie to them and force them to do what you want.
And for those women out there, who think this is really about saving innocent babies, let me assure you it’s not. Republican politicians have passed legislation to define pregnancy as beginning at fertilization which means most types of birth control are now defined as causing abortions. You might want to think about that really hard. Are they saving babies or just calling you a slut? Honestly, Perry and Kasich think women run to Planned Parenthood like it was a 7-Eleven. I’ll take a soda, a bag of chips and an abortion please.
To Perry, Kasich and the other asshat politicians who want to regulate women’s bodies I have one thing to say: Get your religion out of my vagina and back into your heart where it belongs.
Read the
whole thing here. Republicans are rigging the procedure this time to all but guarantee passage, but Democrats in The Lege say they have "a few tricks up our sleeve." Will they perform another vanishing act like they did
in 2003? Stay tuned.
Meanwhile Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Note: Now that the July 4th holiday is over, its time for the annual post-fireworks Counting of the Fingers. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, and…toe graft thumb replacement makes ten! Woo hoo!
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til National Pecan Pie Day: 3
Days 'til the International Polka Festival at the Embassy Suites in Independence, Ohio: 23
Number of guns discovered by TSA agents on passengers at airport security checkpoints in May, up 30% from a year ago: 65
Number of those guns that were loaded and with a bullet in the chamber, respectively: 45 / 15
Percent chance that "I forgot it was there" is the most common excuse when a passenger gets caught with a gun in their carry-on bag: 100%
(Source: TSA via AP)
Industry-wide increase in auto sales in June, the best showing since November of 2007: 9.2%
(Source: USA Today)
Gallons of oil that a runaway train was carrying when it derailed and destroyed a good chunk of the Canadian town of Lac-Megantic Saturday: 2 million
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Tuesday Words of Wisdom from the Right-wing Blogosphere:
My God in Heaven! is there no limit to the absolutely vile filth these perverted pukes will use to broadcast their damnable agenda? May they all rot in hell and may SOMEBODY with even an iota of decency PLEASE wake up enough to remove this exploited children from the grasp of these disgusting bast***s who are by far the lowest form of scum on earth. Amen!!!!!
---wearycon1946 at World Net Daily
All together now: 1…2…3…
You use asterisks in the word bastards? Really? Ha ha!!!
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Puppy Pic of the Day: I guess this explains why the car kept steering itself towards Petco.
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CHEERS to the Class of 2013. In case you missed Kos's formal introduction last week, please say "hey, sup" to the new front pagers:
All tightrope, no net
for the new FP'ers.
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V.L. BAKER (formerly beach babe in fl) --- Lifelong environmental activist, first Meatless Monday blogger in United States. Hangs out on the beach and in academia. … Her excellent work on climate change and other critical environmental battles will be a welcome addition to our front page repertoire.
IAN REIFOWITZ --- Associate professor of History at Empire State College of the State University of New York. … Ian has published articles in Newsday, The Daily News, The New Republic, In These Times, The Post-Star, the Huffington Post and at Truthout, among other outlets. But he has been proud to call Daily Kos his blogging home since 2004. Ian is an active member of the Black Kos community, and was thrilled to be part of a Black Kos panel at Netroots Nation 2012.
EGBERTO WILLIES (formerly ProgressiveLiberal) is a political activist, author, political blogger a member of the coalition executive committee of Move To Amend (MTA), … a CNN iReporter with over one million page views, a Spirit Award honoree for CNN iReport, a frequent contributor to HuffPost Live and host of [two] Internet radio shows.
Welcome, kids! As front-page cadets, you'll receive a jar of paste (and a spoon), a complimentary six-month restraining order against me (with option to extend at no extra charge), orange bellbottoms with a blue stripe, and a jumbo-size can of troll repellent. And if you're workin' out after a year, we'll remove the trap door from under your desk. Now get out there and do what I did my first day on the FP---
break it!!!
JEERS to the return of the do-nothings. That stench you smelled yesterday was Congress ramping up for another stretch of incompetence, intransigence and invective. Among the things they're not expected to get done: all the things they say they're expecting to get done.
JEERS to the root of all the universe's problems. Since the extended July 4th holiday tends to turn my brain to mush (but, oh, those days off were glorious), I need a refresher on the list of things for which the White House is currently "under fire," according to the beltway media and their lapdog pundits. So here it is:
"We're not stealing enough lollipops
from enough children. Do better!"
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Egypt, Syria, Israel/Palestine, health care, surveillance overreach, thunderclouds, world hunger, litter in national parks, unemployment, Alec Baldwin's latest tirade, baggy pants, car trouble, Glenn Greenwald's twitter feed, the heat, the humidity, the shrinking number of daylight hours, judicial nominees, gun-control legislation, gas prices, skyrocketing student loans, an American not winning Wimbledon, chaos in the helium reserve, the crazy jet stream, the giant asteroid headed straight for us, plus the one next to it, and the size of this font.
I'll post the second half of the list tomorrow. Assuming he doesn't get impeached over those asteroids first.
CHEERS to one helluva spoiler alert. Looks like we got ourselves a Christine O'Donnell situation in Wyoming…aka a Dem pickup opportunity in the U.S. Senate:
Cheney profile
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According to The New York Times, [Liz] Cheney is considering taking on Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), even if that means facing the 69-year-old incumbent in a primary.
State Republicans fear this race could spell "the destruction of the Republican Party of Wyoming if she decides to run and he runs, too," said former senator Alan K. Simpson. "It’s a disaster---a divisive, ugly situation---and all it does is open the door for the Democrats for 20 years."
It'd be an interesting match-up, since each candidate has different strengths. For example, Enzi has hefty financial resources and a reliably conservative record on the issues, and Cheney turns anyone who casts their eyes upon her into a pillar of salt.
Conspired with milk
to bring Taylor down
and install Fillmore.
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JEERS to sudden departures. Oh dear. When you're a fierce and legendary general who becomes President of the United States, it's gotta be a little embarrassing to die from eating bad fruit. But that's what happened on July 9, 1850 to "#12" aka
Zachary Taylor when he expired days after contracting severe gastroenteritis. As it often did back then, the medical community
hastened his demise:
Any potential for recovery was overwhelmed by his doctors, who treated him with "ipecac, calomel, opium and quinine (at 40 grains a whack), and bled and blistered him too."
Ultimately what got him was a tainted combination of ice milk and cherries. You might say he went out with a Bing.
JEERS to swelter skelter. How do you people in the south live with this shit?? It was close to 90 here every day during the holiday break with 140% humidity and something called a "dewpoint" that causes storm clouds to form in our living room. Thankfully, we Mainers have a handbook on how to deal with insufferable summer weather, and it's worth revisiting. Step 1: put long johns in the freezer overnight. Step 2: affix ice cubes to earmuffs with rubber bands. Step 3: Drink 'til you pass out and pray a cold front moves through while you're unconscious. If anyone asks what the sweetest sound in the English language is today, my answer is unambiguous: "September."
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Five years ago in C&J: July 9, 2008
FAREWELL to the Fourth Amendment. [Let us bow our heads.] Today the United States Senate will do a very bad thing that it knows is very bad. Today it will pass the new FISA bill with retroactive immunity for the phone companies that colluded with the Executive Branch to spy on innocent Americans from coast to coast without probable cause. It will blithely exonerate a lawbreaking president and endorse a breach of public trust so great that few Americans would believe it even if they had an inkling of what was going on. So, for old time's sake, let us recite the now-defunct words:
Farewell, Fourth Amendment.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Farewell, old friend. You were...comfortable. Like an old sweater. I hope we one day meet again. Okay, Father Flanagan…you can stick it in the ground now.
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And just one more…
Haley, C&J's yellow lab, hauls timber at
the July Kossack meetup in Maine.
CHEERS to sum' sum' summertime. A good time was had by all over the weekend at our New England Kossack meetup in northy-westy Maine Saturday. The rubber ducky brigade at host Mayim's cottage included Debbie in ME, bluesheep, nhox42, Rebereads, Simple, LoreleiHI, Vacationland, ThatTallGuy, Common Sense Mainer, BiPM, plus Dash the dachshund, Haley the yellow lab, a gaggle of loons (real ones, not Republican ones) and bullfrogs, but thankfully no black flies. Great food (yes, including pie), feisty political conversation, splish splashin' and unbeatable scenery ruled the day. Thanks again for your hospitality, Mayim. By the way, if your own little corner of heaven is having a Kossack meetup, drop me a note and I'll give it some ink in C&J. (And also let the
New Day team know know so they can add it to their full meetup list.) They're fun, nutritious, and knowing you're having a good time drives the wingers crazy.
Have a nice Tuesday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
Cheers and Jeers makes us act like cranky, whiny toddlers, experts say, and studies have even shown that as the [Swoosh!! Gong!!] ticks up, so do crime rates.
---Today Health
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