Netroots Nation Update
Good news: after going all-virtual last year, the Netroots Nation organizers just announced that they're bringing back the live, in-person event this year, although scaled-back in size (and also attendable virtually like last year).
More news: for the first time, it's an autumn event—NN21 is happening October 7-9 in Washington D.C.
Everything that makes the convention one of the wonders of the modern world is still scheduled, including blue-ribbon panels, practical training sessions, A-list keynoters and, yes, even Adam B's legendary Pub Quiz. A few more details below the fold.
Continued...
Netroots goddess Mary Rickles adds:
Many of you crave in-person connection and are eager to attend live events again, while others are still cautious and dealing with health concerns or financial restraints. We’ve researched, brainstormed and weighed many options for how to best provide inspiring content, useful trainings and connection opportunities that appeal to all.
Netroots Nation 2021 will include all the great content you’ve come to expect, including panels, trainings and keynotes that you can participate in as they happen, or watch later at your convenience.
The in-person component will be hosted at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill. Capacity will be limited to 1,000 attendees, and we’ll be following CDC guidance to keep everyone safe. The virtual content will be hosted through our convention app, like last year.
Tickets go on sale June 15 and we expect it to sell out. Whether you join us in person or attend from the comfort of your home, we can’t wait to welcome you to Netroots Nation 2021 in October.
Follow NN on Twitter here and on Facebook here.
C&J will keep you posted here as the registration date nears, and we'll continue to keep you all in the loop on speakers, panels, and surprise eruptions that will rock our ideological paradigms to their core. That's service and value you can trust!
And now, our feature presentation...
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Cheers and Jeers for Tuesday, June 8, 2021
Note: Nostradamus predicted that a note would appear at this very spot at this very moment. I'm still waiting. What a fraud.
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til Lobster Day: 10
Minimum number of Covid shots administered as of last weekend: 300 million
Current unemployment rate, the first time under 6% since the pandemic shutdown started: 5.8%
Increase in Maine's average temperature over the last 40 years, versus the blueberry fields of northeastern Maine, respectively, according to University of Maine scientists: 1.98F / 2.34F
Pounds of blueberries produced by Maine farmers last year, the lowest number since 2004: 47 million
Estimated number of flight attendants expected to be hired in the next two years, according to CNN: 20,000
Number of brains a leech has, 32 more than Marjorie Taylor-Greene: 32
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Puppy Pic of the Day: Click...
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JEERS to words coming back to bite you. On January 26th, after Democrats Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock won their Senate seats in Georgia—an astonishing threading of a needle that took the whole planet by surprise, thanks to voters of color—newly-minted Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sat down with Rachel Maddow for a pleasant talk. And just as Donald Trump hauled out the Big Lie that he'd won the election, Schumer hauled out a whopper of his own:
"We are united in the view we need to bring change. ... And we will come together as a caucus and figure it out. But I can assure you, we will bring real change here. Real dramatic change."
And here we are, five months later, with a familiar pattern emerging: Democrats—and Democrats alone—pass a must-pass emergency bill to dig the nation out of a ditch of the Republicans' making. There is much celebration. Then the effect of the legislation wears off and…crickets. The Senate promise of "real dramatic change" ends up in the same ditch, thanks to just enough posturing pot-stirrers to ruin everything. And here we are. Any suggestions? Mine involves squirrels wielding tiny spiked baseball bats. I hope there's a better one, because they won’t move without six weeks of vacation and dental insurance.
CHEERS to doing something. Just a little reminder that the true heroes of our legislative branch are House Democrats, who are more likely than the Senate to take the lead on pressing issues by a factor of a gazillion. One year ago today, led by the Congressional Black Caucus in the wake of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a cop, a remarkable criminal justice reform bill was introduced. There's quite a bit to the Justice in Policing Act, and here are the major components:
» Bans chokeholds
» Bans no-knock warrants in drug cases
» Requires local police departments to send data on the use of force and misconduct complaints to a federal database
» Funds independent investigations, in coordination with state attorneys general, into police misconduct/excessive use of force
» Requires that officers use deadly force only as a last resort after de-escalation techniques fail
» Federal uniformed police officers would be required to wear body cameras and marked federal police vehicles with dashboard cameras
» Limit the transfer of military-grade equipment to state and local police departments
The House passed it later that month. Mitch McConnell killed it. The bill was reintroduced this year, and it passed in March. It sits on Chuck Schumer’s desk, stymied by a racist procedural rule that starts with F. There’s another word that starts with F that I could use in response to the existence of the other word that starts with F. Sadly, Miss Manners says I can’t say it without being banished from charm school. Some days it doesn’t seem worth it to get outta bed.
CHEERS to a little respect for the backbone of America. Nice to see the punch clock on the other foot for a change. The New York Times (via their morning email) tells me that management is finally feeling the pressure to stick a crowbar in their petty-cash drawer and pay workers more, while tossing in some on-the-job training. Opening sentences like this are rare, so savor it:
For the first time in a generation, workers are gaining the upper hand.
Companies are becoming more willing to pay a little more to train workers, to take chances on people without traditional qualifications and to show greater flexibility in where and how people work, our senior economics correspondent writes.
The share of job postings that say “no experience necessary” is up two-thirds over 2019 levels, according to one firm. The shift builds on changes already underway in the tight labor market before the pandemic, when the unemployment rate was 4 percent or lower for two straight years.
But some things won’t change. Top of the list: Bud in accounting is always going to steal half your sandwich from the employee fridge.
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BRIEF SANITY BREAK
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END BRIEF SANITY BREAK
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CHEERS to great moments in dust busting. Ives McGaffey of Chicago patented the first mechanical ("whirlwind") vacuum cleaner on this date in 1869. It was a crude device—the butler sucked on a hose.
JEERS to failing Computers 101. Remember last year when Fox News senior twit Brit Hume sent out a screenshot of election betting odds, but forgot to close out the tab he'd opened to explore the exciting world of Sexy Vixen Vinyl? Well, Congressman Mo Brooks of Alabama has a few words for ol' Brit: "Hold my beer." After Mo finally got served (via his wife) with a subpoena by Rep. Eric Swalwell for being “responsible for injury and destruction during the Jan. 6th insurrection, "Brooks sent out a rage tweet in response. It did not go well:
As former Daily Kos front-pager Dana Houle pointed out: "Mo Brooks is a member of the Armed Services sub-committee on Cyber, Innovative technology &information systems." But don’t worry, America, the password he posted above isn’t the same one he uses to access top-secret committee information that could destroy us if it ever fell in the wrong hands. No. That one is PASSWORD 123.
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Ten years ago in C&J: June 8, 2011
JEERS to little "accidents." On Sunday Fox News ran a story about Sarah Palin, and accompanying it was a graphic of Tina Fey. The network quickly apologized for the slam. And Tina Fey accepted.
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And just one more…
CHEERS to bipedal mammalian biological unit identification. Lost in all the hoopla about trivial issues like voting rights, Russian hacking, and climate change, is the most pressing issue of the day: what parents are naming their spawn. So allow me, via that Huffy Post, to terminate the suspense: the most popular girl and boy names of 2020 were:
Girls
- Olivia
- Emma
- Ava
- Charlotte
- Sophia
Boys
- Liam
- Noah
- Oliver
- Elijah
- William
The most hilarious reveal is that "Donald" is now at its lowest position on the list—five hundred and something—since names started being tracked in the 1880s. True story: I went through a period of confusion when I was young, thanks to my mom and dad. For the first eighteen years of my life I thought my middle name was Billy and my first name was Dammit.
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
“While harmless, Cheers and Jeers is for undemanding youngsters only.”
—Russ Simmons
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