From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE...
Happy Birthday, Daily Kos? Well...okay. If we must.
Normally we're all over this kind of anniversary stuff. But C&J dropped the ball yesterday by not giving Kos a shout-out on his 3rd blogiversary. (His first post was, shall we say, humble.)
Not to get maudlin, but I'm not sure what my mental state [twitch, twitch] would be like today if I didn't have this virtual Justice League a mouse-click away at any given moment. My guess is I would've tuned out and devoted my life to wandering the streets, looking under parking meters for stray nickels and screaming at kids to get off my lawn. And thanks to wireless, I can still do that and blog at the same time. Color me tickled pink.
I've built a cozy little shack at Daily Kos because here I get the most precious---and rare---commodity on earth these days: the truth. Two years ago when I signed up, I knew nothing about primaries, caucuses, economics, framing, filibusters, Social Security, the saints and sinners in Congress... Hell, I didn't even know what a "buh-log" was, let alone how it would change my perception of darn near everything.
I don't know about you, but I say Daily Kos's arrival couldn't have come at a more crucial time. The GOP has attempted to dismantle so much of what we mainstream Americans hold dear: free speech, safety nets, privacy, transparency, science, infrastructure, fiscal responsibility, and credibility in the world. But now that we're a force (along with other blogs and watchdog groups like Media Matters) to be reckoned with, the evil ones can't be quite so brazen in their lust for power. Not bad for a bunch of nerds in their jammies. So Happy (belated) Birthday from user ID #2574. And here's to many mo... Ooh! A nickel!
May your long weekend go very slooow. Cheers and Jeers starts in There's Moreville... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Friday, May 27, 2005...
Note: Timmy will not be attending today's festivities as he has fallen down the well.
By the Numbers:
Days `til Memorial Day: 3
Days `til Father's Day: 22
Amount of campaign contributions accepted by stem cell research opponent Senator Rick Santorum on behalf of companies that conduct stem cell research: $55,500
Number of pro-stem cell research companies he accepted the money from: 6
(Source: DSCC via Americablog)
Days the federal terror alert system has been in place: 1,185
Days spent at terror alert Green or Blue: 0
Your Puppy Pic of the Day Whoever said beauty is only skin deep never watched me try to get a date on Friday night. [Sigh] Another weekend with the inflatable husky."
CHEERS to the tightening noose. Tom Delay just got nudged one step closer to indictment in Texas. And it couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
JEERS to the tightening...necklace?? Forget the Green Zone---things have gotten so bad in Iraq that the entire city of Baghdad is being encircled by 40,000 troops "like a bangle around the wrist". Now we know why the Iraqi forces are so weak---the Pentagon's been outsourcing their training to the Home Shopping Network.
CHEERS to Return of the Brit. George Galloway, the British Minister of Parliament who tore Senator Norm Coleman a new asshole in a food-for-oil Senate hearing last week, will be back this summer for a nationwide speaking tour. Says Galloway of the Bushies: "They think they rule the world and everyone is afraid of them. But I'm not afraid." If you come to Maine, sir, the Guinness is on me.
JEERS to frequent-dier miles. Some airlines, desperate for business, are awarding free tickets to funeral directors who ship dead bodies on their flights. Jet Blue, for example, offers one free round-trip ticket for every 15 corpses that take a one-way trip to their final reward. That's just creepy.
CHEERS to decisions we can live with. The judge at the Michael Jackson trial ruled that prosecutors can't see photos of of the pop star's chocolate salty balls. In the name of all that is decent, we humbly thank you, yer honor.
CHEERS to masking tape. It was invented on this day In 1930. It has a million and one uses...but this shouldn't be one of them. Tsk Tsk.
JEERS to those darn kids. 263 years ago tomorrow, England's first indoor swimming pool opened. It was followed by the first pool-side sign: "We don't swim in thy toilet. Please don't pee in our pool."
CHEERS to super feats of engineering. 68 years ago, in 1937, San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge opened. Smooth move, Poindexter---now we got the gays swarming all over the country.
CHEERS to Rudolph William Louis Giuliani III. Rudy gets a break tomorrow...it's his 61st birthday. Here's the stripper for your party, yer'honor. (That'll make a nice campaign poster, won't it?)
JEERS to petty stooges. 32 years ago today, in 1972, the White House "plumbers" hit the Democratic National Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel, setting events in motion that led to Nixon's resignation. The first clue that something was amiss: their bill was reasonable.
JEERS to hacking up a lung. Murphy's Law strikes: if there's a three-day weekend ahead, I'll get miserably sick. Thanks to the damp, cold spring weather we've had, I'm now coughing up stuff that is not of this earth. Now c'mere and kiss me, you fool... Mmmmmuah!!
C&J Flashback: May 27, 2004...
CHEERS to Strike Twooooo! First, Ashcroft loses to Greenpeace. Now a Federal Appeals court says he can't interfere with Oregon's assisted suicide law. A little too much Crisco on your bat, slugger?
CHEERS to second chances. New York Times admits its Iraq war coverage was, um, lacking: "Looking back, we wish we had been more aggressive in re-examining the claims as new evidence emerged---or failed to emerge." Read it here. Fine. We'll believe you when you dump Judith Miller on the NY Post's doorstep and speed away.
And just one more...
CHEERS to our fallen soldiers. This Memorial Day we honor you. We thank you. We remember you.
Enjoy your long weekend. See you Tuesday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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