From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
Maine Governor to Half of State: Drop Dead
“There are two things in life---two things in life---that absolutely drive me to complete disrespect for the other person. That’s someone who spits in my face and somebody who lies to me.”
---Gov. Paul LePage, Sept. 2014
As I documented not long after he said that, our embarrassment of a governor
spits and lies all the time. Despite promising to dial back the vitriol during his reelection campaign, he's declared open warfare on Democrats, Republicans, independents…hell, he's even facing possible impeachment for blackmailing a charter school in order to take revenge on our state House speaker. (But that's hardly the only time he's
used withholding of money as a cudgel against defenseless organizations.) And in addition to the spitting and lying, he's proven to be
hugely incompetent when it comes to the basic functions of the state government.
Now Governor LePage has declared a spit-in-yer-face war on half the state's population with this awkwardly-worded response to a letter from a taxpayer in Cape Elizabeth for whom he works and from whom he draws part of his salary:
Louise, I bet you would like to see me resign. You live in the south who exploit those who are not so fortunate, or understand the level of corruption that southern Mainers ignore and welcome!
Regards, Governor Paul R. LePage
P.S. [Resignation] Not going to happen!
Stupid southern Maine residents! You're so dumb and corrupt and stuff! [
P'tooey!] I spit in your face!
This from a guy who has made shredding the safety net for "those who are not so fortunate"---in the north, south, east and west---his two-term mission as governor.
Can Gov. Meathead get any worse? Yes. He can and he will. That's why a lot of us are hoping the legislature removes him from office. Because lord help us if there's an actual crisis up here with this guy in charge.
Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Tags: Lying Spitting Jerk LePage Liar Bullshitter LePage Lies Idiot Disgrace LePage Teabagger Doofus Liar Liar Liar Liar Massive Huge Liar Pants On Fire Incompetent Boob Impeach Pettiest Maine Governor Ever And Did I Mention He Lies Lies Lies Liar Spitter LePage Lies
Cheers and Jeers for Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Note: Today's column will be discovered 20,000 years from now and deemed a work of terrible literature. On the upside, at least they'll spell my name right.
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3 days!!!
By the Numbers:
Days 'til Windows 10 starts its rolling rollout:
1
Days 'til the
New Jersey State Fair--Sussex County Farm & Horse Show:
3
Percent chance that both Hillary and Bernie are beating Donald by at least 16 points:
100%
(Source: CNN/Opinion Research poll)
Expected increase next year in Obamacare premiums through the non-profit Maine Community Health Options insurer:
0.5%
(Source:
The Portland Press Herald)
Length of the average You Tube video-watching session:
40 minutes
(Source: FiveThirtyEight)
Age of the Mercury Dime as of next year:
100
Average annual number of traffic jams at Yellowstone National Park caused by drivers’ rubbernecking of bears:
840
(Source: Harper's Index)
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Tuesday Words of Wisdom from the Right-wing Blogosphere:
The patriot commenters at World Net Daily---"Home of the Blood Moon Whoopie Pie"---sound off on Donald Trump's domination of the polls:
They luvs 'em some Trump.
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Support Trump, if you really want change, this guy will restore America. He confident of telling truth. He and Ben Carson , and sheriff Joe as Attorney General, would be a great team to defeat liberal left. Most black people would support them.
---Sergeipopkov
Let TRUMP rip..Put the RINOs back in their Pink Fur Lined closets
---Olddog
I hope Trump has some serious security surrounding him! Liberals who see a body as a serious threat are not above applying a Final Solution when they fail to remove them in any other way...
---Nidalap
All together now: 1…2…3…
Classy!
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Puppy Pic of the Day: Bunce trains Bunce
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CHEERS to grownups abroad. After being feted last night by Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, President Obama wraps up his trip to Africa today. (The Obama Diary has photo-heavy highlights of yesterday events.) Although not a whole lot was accomplished from a formal-agreement standpoint, Obama has brought immeasurable goodwill and positive energy to that nation and, earlier, Kenya. Despite his focus on African affairs, he still had to take a moment to go into parent mode when a couple GOP presidential candidates started flinging their soiled diapers around the room back home:
God, I wish we could give 'em time-outs.
CHEERS to blowing the Quaalude king's cover. It's really sad that the consequences of being a serial rapist have an expiration date (the "statute of limitations"). Perhaps that should be revisited because, in addition to recently-released deposition transcripts in which Bill Cosby admits to drugging women in order to rape them, the new cover of New York magazine cries out for something to be done:
If he can't be put on trial, then only two words suffice for any organization anywhere that has ever bestowed any accolade on him:
revoke it. And two words for any venue that might still be greedy enough to have him booked for a show:
cancel it.
JEERS to spinning evil out of thin air. The assault by the so-called "Center for Medical Progress" on Planned Parenthood for "selling aborted body parts for profit" should not be getting the kind of traction it's getting, but Republicans in the halls of state houses and the U.S. Capitol are joining the fact-free smear campaign in lockstep---with lots of help from right-wing media---and Democrats in similar positions of power are standing idly by letting it happen. So it's nice to see Maine's largest paper, The Portland Press Herald, making a full-court pushback against the right-wing liars:
[L]et’s take a minute to talk about what’s not in the video. Despite what its creators claim:
Every Democrat on Capitol Hill
should be hoisting these signs.
• Nobody is seen “selling” tissue.
• Nobody is seen “profiting” from abortion.
• Nobody is seen breaking the law or even behaving unethically, except maybe for the off-screen “actors” who are trying to coax their target into crossing a line.
What we do see is a doctor talking about the human body and a medical procedure in the matter-of-fact way that professionals use when they talk about their work. It may sound coarse and unfeeling, but it’s no different from the way lawyers might talk to each other about a case or detectives about a crime. A little professional detachment is not a sign of malice---it’s a necessary discipline that permits people to put aside their emotions and focus on their jobs, which, in this case, was helping advance medical research. […]
The video and the threatened investigation create the impression of scandal where there is no scandal. It is a strategy designed to weaken Planned Parenthood politically, which would make life more difficult for low-income women who rely on its clinics for checkups and screenings, as well as forcing some of them to carry unwanted pregnancies to term.
Need more proof it's a bunch of crapola? Sarah Palin weighed in on Facebook and she says that Planned Parenthood is…wait for it…
worse than slavery. Nice to see she's found a way to keep herself occupied while waiting in the unemployment line.
CHEERS to Bubba's foresight. Addressing a veterans convention in New Orleans on July 28, 1996, Bill Clinton called on Congress to pass expanded measures against acts of terror in the United States. It was a more innocent time back then, and today the Adult Children Moving Back in with their Parents Act seems rather quaint.
CHEERS to smoothing out the ride. I'm really looking forward to going to Netroots Nation in St. Louis next year, but ask me what I dread most about it and I'll tell you without a moment's hesitation: flying! Specifically, flying through turbulence! So I'm glad to see that pilots now have a new and efficient way of warning other aircraft of exactly where the bumpy patches are on the up-there superhighway. It's a software package that detects turbulence, instantly transmits it to the ground, and then sends a message to pilots in the same flight path. Here's an example of what the new notices look like:
Hey! tURB
u
l
ANCE aheAD be ver
Y caref
UL you guys!!!!!!!!!
With my luck I'll be on the plane that experiences the turbulence in the first place. To all the flights behind me: Y oU r e WELcOM e.
CHEERS to feeling your pain. On July 28, 1865, the American Dental Association proposed its first code of ethics, thus paving the way for hilarious moments like this:
Today we'll celebrate the occasion by jabbing a sharp metal pick into the mouths of random people on the street. And whaddya know, we'll just happen to have clove oil for sale at five bucks a drop. Vive le capitalism.
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C&J Flashback: The 2004 Democratic Convention---July 28
I miss Elizabeth Edwards
lots and lots and lots.
Speakers include:
Elizabeth Edwards
Sen. John Edwards
Sen. Bob Graham
Rep. Dennis Kucinich
Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico
Rev. Al Sharpton
CHEERS to Howard Dean. At convention last night, a sentimental swan song from the man who made it okay to get mad as hell, both at Bush and the self-defeating in our own party: "Never again will we ever be ashamed to call ourselves Democrats. Never, never, never." The crowd reaction was clear: You stick around now, y'hear?
CHEERS to skinny kids with funny names. Barack Obama starts his convention speech softly, then builds to stunning where-did-that-come-from finale. "We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and yes, we've got some gay friends in the Red States." That sound you hear is the GOP soiling their britches. [7/28/14 Update: Heh. For good reason.]
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And just one more…
CHEERS to red meat that's not the political kind. On today's date in 1900, reportedly while trying to piss off his vegan neighbor, Louis Lassen invented the humble hamburger in New Haven, Connecticut. Louis' Lunch is still in business and kickin' it old-school:
Sign at Louis' Lunch.
The beginnings of the hamburger sandwich as we all know it today was really quite simple. One day in 1900, a gentleman hurriedly walked into Louis' Lunch and told proprietor Louis Lassen he was in a rush and wanted something he could eat on the run. In an instant, Louis placed his own blend of ground steak trimmings between two slices of toast and sent the gentleman on his way. And so, the most recognizable American sandwich was born.
The original hamburger.
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Today, Louis' great grandson, Jeff Lassen, carries on the tradition. The hamburgers have
changed little from their historic prototype and remain the specialty of the house. Burgers are made fresh daily; hand-rolled from a proprietary blend of five meat varieties and cooked to order in the original cast-iron grills dating back to 1898. The Lassen family hold firm on their desire not to offer any condiments. The Louis Lunch experience is about the taste and simplicity of a fresh burger grilled to perfection. Cheese, tomato, and onion are the only acceptable garnish.
So happy birthday to the hamburger, for 115 years the quintessential representation of America's diet until the next Republican gets elected president when it will be replaced with cat food. (And, yes, I
would like fries with that.)
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 was one of worst ideas of Bill in Portland Maine along with New Coke, shoulder pads and big hair.”
---Hillary Clinton
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