Energize An Ally Tuesday
The moment one of Donald Trump's legal stooges filed a lawsuit trying to steal the 2020 election from Joe Biden, one guy was always—[Snap!]—right there to fight back and win. And win. And win. And win. If the name Marc Elias sounds familiar, it's because he was that guy. An election lawyer who seemingly never slept as he beat back the forces of evil in court.
Marc's organization is called Democracy Docket, and his next challenge is fighting the voter suppression law that just passed in Georgia—a return to Jim Crow so blatant and obscene that the governor signed it surrounded by rich white landowners under a portrait of a slave plantation. Classy.
This morning Democracy Docket and three other organizations they're working with are in our Energize An Ally spotlight, because so much is riding on this legal challenge. More below the fold.
Here's what Democracy Docket is helping with as of last Thursday:
Late Thursday, the New Georgia Project, Black Voter Matter Fund, and Rise filed a lawsuit against Georgia challenging the passage of SB 202, a 95-page voter suppression bill. Both the state senate and state house approved the bill in order to rush it to Governor Kemp’s desk, who signed it at a televised press conference.
The suit alleges that SB 202 imposes a multitude of voter restrictions (like shortened time periods for voting in a run-off, banning line warming, restricted use of drop boxes, and more) that, when combined, create a cumulative voter suppression effect in violation of the 14th Amendment and Section 2 of the VRA. The suit directly challenges several provisions of the bill.
Needless to say, the Senate needs to get it in gear and pass H.R. 1 to blunt these state-level abuses. But for the time being, the GOP suppression laws are being fought at the state level. There's an ActBlue page set up to help four organizations—Black Voters Matter Fund, Democracy Docket Action Fund, New Georgia Project Action Fund, and Rise—as they fight the Republican law that does everything except bring back separate water fountains (and that may not be far behind). C&J is in for $10 apiece and we encourage you to add to the pot if you’re willing and able. The donation link is here. You can also follow Marc Elias for updates on Twitter here.
Needless to say, the earlier they can get out in front of this madness, the better off everyone will be. Many thanks.
And now, our feature presentation...
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Cheers and Jeers for Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Note: I saw a crocus coming out of the ground in our back yard. Recognizing that we still have multiple cold snaps to come, I took my giant wooden Thor mallet and pounded it back into the ground, then covered it with a cinderblock until it’s safe. One day it’ll thank me. I truly believe that. —A guest note posted by Martin in HR
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til Adopt A Ferret Month: 2
First-time jobless claims last week, the lowest since the pandemic began: 684,000
Percent of Americans in the new ABC News/Ipsos poll who approve of President Biden's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic: 72%
Estimated portion of American adults now vaccinated: 1-in-3
Number of Brazilians dying every hour from Covid-19 as its death toll tops 300,000: 125
Percent chance Spain is starting a pilot program this fall to try a national 4-day workweek to stimulate domestic tourism and create flexibility for employees: 100%
Length of our summers by the year 2100 due to climate change, according to research in the journal of Geophysical Research and Letters: 6 months
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Puppy Pic of the Day: And the Oscar for Best Sound Effects Editing goes to…
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CHEERS to the sound of freedom. The Dutch container ship with the world’s entire supply of toilet paper was finally scraped off the bottom of the Suez Canal and sent on its merry way yesterday morning. Here’s footage of the historic moment taken from our house in Portland, Maine:
What happens now: the Egyptians will go back to operating the canal as usual, and Americans will go back to not being able find the Suez Canal on a map as usual.
CHEERS to the re-releasing Elizabeth Warren's kraken. There was a lot that was frustrating about the previous administration, but one of the saddest things was watching the rapid de-fanging of the Massachusetts senator's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Trumpbot in charge, being evil, basically turned its purpose on its head and started using it as a shield for swindlers. But not anymore. With Democrats in charge, regular 'Murcans have their watchdog back:
[The Biden] administration has pinpointed the agency as a key weapon in his arsenal to address racial disparities in access to loans, capital and credit, part of major campaign promises to Black Americans and other people of color who have also been disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 crisis.
Experts said a fully staffed, enforcement-focused CFPB gives Biden a crucial tool to advocate for lower- and middle-class Americans who have in recent years, and during the pandemic in particular, been preyed on by financial institutions and subjected to dubious lending and debt collection practices.
"There is going to be a cop on the beat again," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who helped create the agency. "The Trump team, they tried to make clear they were there to help big banks and big money lenders, not families. But the Biden administration is focused on using it to level the playing field." … The Biden administration has already made moves to help return the agency to its original mission.
So today our government works a little better than it did yesterday on behalf of average Americans. Or as Republicans call it: a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
CHEERS to great moments in disappearing stuff. On March 30, 1858, the pencil-with-attached-eraser was patented by Hyman L. Lipman of Philadelphia. Then things got a bit ugly:
In 1862 Lipman sold his patent to Joseph Reckendorfer for $100,000, who went [on] to sue the pencil manufacturer Faber for infringement.
In 1875 the Supreme Court of the United States ruled against Reckendorfer declaring the patent invalid because his invention was actually a combination of two already known things with no new use.
I have no doubt that former Trump cabinet members are writing their memoirs using both sides of their Lipman pencils. One end to make up their own history, and the other end to erase the real history.
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BRIEF SANITY BREAK
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END BRIEF SANITY BREAK
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CHEERS to Infrastructure Week! Look, look, look, look…I get it. I do! You've been duped so many times over Infrastructure Weeks that never happen that the very mention of it is akin to that f*cking Shepard boy crying "wolf" every five minutes. (FYI: He's been fired and sent off to join his grandmother on an ice floe.) But this time it's real. Look, it's on NBC News and everything:
President Joe Biden will lay out the first part of his multitrillion-dollar economic recovery package this week, focusing on rebuilding roads, bridges and other infrastructure, followed by a separate plan later in April addressing child and health care.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed on Sunday the administration’s plans to split the package into two legislative proposals, part of an effort to get support from congressional Republicans. But she adds that “we’ll work with the Senate and House to see how it should move forward.”
Biden will release details in a speech Wednesday in Pittsburgh about his proposal for federal investments in physical infrastructure, an issue that has drawn Republican support despite wariness over a pricey package so soon after passage of the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief plan. […] During the presidential campaign, Biden pledged $2 trillion in “accelerated” investments to shift to cleaner energy, build half a million charging stations for electric vehicles, support public transit and repair roads and bridges.
It's the oldest truism in politics: you want to win reelection? Fix the damn potholes.
JEERS to taking your non-existent relationship too far.
Forty years ago today, on March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan, along with Press Secretary James Brady, police officer Thomas Delahanty and Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy, got shot by some whackjob who wanted to present a dead-president-skin rug to Jodie Foster as a wedding gift. At first they didn’t think Reagan's wound was serious, but something about losing half his blood prompted a diversion to George Washington Medical Center. The rest ("Honey, I forgot to duck," "I hope you're all Republicans") is history. By the way, anyone care to take a guess as to what group the president from the now-union-hating party was lavishing praise on at the Washington Hilton that day? The AFL-CIO. Don’t that just boggle the mind.
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Ten years ago in C&J: March 30, 2011
JEERS to the din in Des Moines. A bunch of possible Republican presidential candidates got together for a forum in Iowa Saturday and read a bunch of poll-tested talking points off of teleprompters involving god, guns, gays, going Galt, and glorifying The Gipper. But the one thing they focused on more than anything else as they addressed the ultra-conservative audience: groveling.
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And just one more…
CHEERS to the galaxy far, far away that just keeps on far, far awaying. The episodic Star Wars series The Mandalorian, which gave the world the gift of "Baby Yoda," proved that putting George Lucas's saga on the small screen could be far, far more compelling than the movies (Episodes 4-7 excluded). So it's exciting to hear that the adventures of the original trilogy's main characters (Ben, Darth, Luke) will be gallivanting across the sands of Tatooine at the height of the Empire's power again:
The "Obi-Wan Kenobi" series at Disney Plus is preparing to begin production, with the series also adding several new cast members.
Moses Ingram, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simone Kessell and Benny Safdie have all joined series lead Ewan McGregor, who will reprise the role of Kenobi from the “Star Wars” prequel films. Details on who the others will play is being kept under wraps, though Edgerton and Piesse will likely be playing the role of Owen and Beru Lars, Luke Skywalker’s uncle and aunt, whom they played in “Attack of the Clones” and “Revenge of the Sith,” all but confirming that Luke will play a role in the series somehow. It was previously announced that Hayden Christensen would return in the role of Darth Vader.
The story begins 10 years after the events of “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith” where Kenobi faced his greatest defeat, the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker turned evil Sith Lord Darth Vader.
Production starts Thursday. In the immortal words of the Tuskan Raiders: Aieeeeeeeee hee hee hee!!!
Have a tolerable Tuesday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial
After spelling his name again and telling the VP that he’s five years old, Harris said “I thought you were ten!” “Why?” Bill in Portland Maine said, as the veep greeted the other kids.
—Mediaite
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