From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
Energize an Ally Tuesday
Well. They gone and done it. Yesterday the electoral college placed the keys to the country at the feet of the least-qualified and most volatile person to ever hold the office, and slowly backed away, unsure if Donald J. Trump might mildly scorch their clothing with lightning bolts from his tiny, tiny fingers. Blame Comey, blame Hillary, blame Russia, blame whoever…but there's no doubt that the Republican party is hell-bent on preventing a huge swath of Americans from voting in every election, based solely on their preference for Democrats. That's why this week's C&J Energize an Ally organization is the League of Women Voters. Says organization President Chris Carson:
"Unfortunately, in too many cases, voters had to overcome significant barriers that were erected by elected officials and other political operatives. These ongoing threats to voters’ rights are unacceptable.
This is the first presidential election in 50 years without the full protection of the Voting Rights Act. Thousands of eligible voters were purged from the rolls. Onerous voter ID laws prevented eligible voters from casting their ballots. We saw cases of misinformation and intimidation at the polls.
We can and must do better. All year the League has worked in more than 700 communities, in every state, to register and help eligible Americans get ready to vote. In the 2016 election, more than 4 million people used our digital voter resource, VOTE411.org to find the election information they needed. The League of Women Voters will continue our work to expand participation in the election process and work to give a voice to all Americans."
The League was founded shortly before the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920 to help educate women on the voting process. Today they're "a nonpartisan political organization, [that] encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy." If you're able and willing, here's their donation page. With Republicans looking for any way to subvert the voting process to their advantage in future elections (2018 ain’t that far away), the work of the League of Women Voters takes on a whole new urgency in the era of Emperor Sewer Mouth. Thanks for helping them out.
Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Note: Today's C&J is brought to you by the makers of Good King Wences Slaw, now available three tasty varieties: original, spicy, and not recalled by the FDA. Pick some up in your local grocer's deli section today!
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til Festivus, Hanukkah, Babyjesusmas and Kwanzaa: 3, 4, 5, 6
Days 'til the Ice Cold Beer Fest in Minocqua, Wisconsin: 20
Amount spent this year on construction of new self-storage units or refurbishment of existing ones, the highest level since 1993 according to the Census Bureau: $1.5 billion
Percent chance that the increase in storage units is due to Americans having more money from the Obama economy to buy new stuff so they have to store their old stuff: 100%
Average size of the annual tax cut for the wealthiest Americans if Obamacare is repealed, according to the Tax Policy Center: $197,000
Age of the original TV yule log, which will be re-broadcast this year after being discovered recently in a box of archival footage at WPIX-TV in New York, as of this year: 50
Percent chance that you can watch it via livestream on Christmas eve at 11 ET and again Christmas morning at 7: 100%
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Puppy Pic of the Day: Self-evident truth---they grow up too fast.
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JEERS to our new not-so-benevolent overlord. The electors did their thing yesterday and, come January 20th, this is the guy (I’ll be charitable and spare you his photo) who is going to take office as the President of the United States:
- "He has spent a career of sticking it to working people." (Sen. Marco Rubio)
- "This man is a pathological liar. He doesn't know the difference between truth and lies. He lies practically every word that comes out of his mouth. … He describes his battle with venereal disease as his own personal Vietnam." (Sen. Ted Cruz)
- "Donald Trump reminds me of the Kim Kardashian of politics." (Carly Fiorina)
- "He's a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot. He doesn't represent my party. He doesn't represent the values that the men and women who wear the uniform are fighting for. ... He's the ISIL man of the year." (Sen. Lindsey Graham)
- "Not the Commander-in-Chief we would need to keep our country safe" (Gov. Jeb Bush)
- “He is a cancer on conservatism … His comments should completely and immediately disqualify him from seeking our nation’s highest office.” (Gov. Rick Perry)
The best advice for all of us, courtesy of Senator Graham: "You know how you make America great again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell." And so we shall.
CHEERS to today's alternate headline. Courtesy of Dan Savage:
PolitiFact rates this claim: "Oh yah, youbetcha." (I think their Minnesota bureau handled this one.)
CHEERS to people power. Assuming Republicans haven't destroyed the Affordable Care Act completely by next November, Mainers will have a chance to do an end-run around our idiotic, healthcare-hating governor who refuses to expand Medicaid as allowed by the Affordable Care Act:
Supporters of a proposal to expand the Medicaid program in Maine say they have collected enough signatures to put a referendum question on the ballot next fall.
Maine Equal Justice Partners said they collected 65,000 signatures on petitions on Election Day alone, exceeding the nearly 62,000 required to get the measure on the ballot. Robyn Merrill, executive director of the group, said petition circulators have continued to gather signatures since Election Day but she couldn’t offer an estimate of the total number collected. […]
Merrill said organizers are also cognizant of the uncertainty of the future of the Affordable Care Act in Washington. ... Some Republican lawmakers, however, including Maine Sen. Susan Collins, have said they are wary of repealing the Affordable Care Act without having something to replace it.
In an interesting twist, the referendum vote may not even be necessary because the Maine legislature might vote to expand Medicaid during the next session. Apparently there could be enough Republican support to override a LePage veto. If that happens I'll be glad I beefed up our homeowner’s policy with supplemental pigs-flying-into-our-house insurance.
CHEERS and JEERS to dashing through the airspace corridors in a 10 20 35 45-dollars-per-bag sardine can. Good news: holiday traffic is expected to be up this year, meaning more of us are in a traveling mood. Bad news: if you're out in it, it's gonna suck tailpipe:
More than 103 million Americans---the most on record---are expected to travel for the year-end holidays, according to AAA. This represents a 1.5 percent increase, or 1.5 million more people traveling, compared with last year. This comes despite one fewer travel day this holiday season.
The increase in holiday travel this year is being driven by additional consumer spending, a result of improvements in the labor market and rising wages. Additionally, low gas prices and increased consumer optimism will prompt more Americans than ever to set out on trips to celebrate the holidays.
The vast majority of travelers---93.6 million people---will take a holiday road trip, an increase of 1.5 percent over last year. Air travel is expected to increase by 2.5 percent, with more than 6 million Americans flying to their holiday destinations.
AAA also predicts that the number of people not traveling this year will equal the number of people being silently loathed by the number of people who are.
CHEERS to territorial irony. On this date 213 years ago, the Louisiana Purchase was completed (though the formal transfer happened 10 days later) in a New Orleans ceremony with representatives of Napoleon's administration. The land mass encompasses parts of Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Wyoming, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Nebraska. Imagine that---almost all "red" states who owe their existence to the kindness of…France. Sacre bleu, pard'ner!
CHEERS to David Lynch sightings. You may have heard that, after a start and a stop and then a re-start, Twin Peaks really is coming back for another round of strangeness. This is the new promo in its entirety. SPOILER ALERT: There are no spoilers…
We hear Homer Simpson has watched it a thousand times already.
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Ten years ago in C&J: December 20, 2006
WHATEVER to traditional-media condescension. TIME magazine's person of the year is YOU. It should've been me.
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And just one more…
CHEERS and JEERS to wearing white way after Labor Day. While most of us are still asleep, autumn will end tomorrow morning at 5:44 ET and be replaced with the season popularly known as "Is it !#&%!! spring yet?" It's coming in more lambish than liony, although the Christmas forecast looks a little messy. It's also the shortest and darkest day of the year, so at least we can look forward to teeny tiny slivers of extra light through late June. Plus: nothing tastes better in winter than a steaming bowl of clam chowder during a blizzard. And now, to paraphrase Jon Stewart, here it is: your Moment of Stonehenge...
Bonus winter tip: during ice storms, there's no need to salt your sidewalk. A public service message from the Society of Unscrupulous Chiropractors.
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:
Ghost Shark Filmed Alive In Cheers and Jeers kiddie pool For First Time
---National Geographic
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