From Mt. Carmel, Illinois, home of the fightin' Golden Aces:
A little inspiration for all of us, from Joe Biden's autobiography:
My dad had grace. He never, ever gave up, and he never complained. The world doesn't owe you a living, Joey," he used to say, but without rancor. He had no time for self-pity. He didn't judge a man by how many times he got knocked down but by how fast he got up.
Get up! That was his phrase, and it has echoed through my life. The world dropped you on your head? My dad would say, Get up! You're lying in bed feeling sorry for yourself? Get up! You got knocked on your ass on the football field? Get up! Bad grade? Get up! The girl's parents won't let her go out with a Catholic boy? Get up!
Cheers and Jeers begins, with news from around the nation, around the world, and up your alley! ("Up my alley?" Up yours!)
DISCLAIMER: AAbshier's Cheers and Jeers are not affiliated in any way, shape, or form, with Bill in Portland Maine's Cheers and Jeers. The use of the words JEERS and CHEERS , the swoosh/gong device, pie references, pootie pics, lusty wenches, mattress references, whomps, moist, and flicked peas are all used with permission of Bill in Portland Maine and the members of the C&J Café community. Any further resemblances to BiPM`s Cheers and Jeers are deliberately coincidental. So there.
NOTE: Jewelry is the gift to give, 'cause it's the gift that'll live and live.
Doc's Bad Joke of the Week
(in the gray box so you can avoid it and not miss anything else)
The Detroit Lions! Wait, that's too obvious.
Some quick hits for this day after Thanksgiving:
Q: Why did the turkey cross the road?
A: It was the chicken's day off.
Q: Why did they let the turkey join the band?
A: Because he had the drumsticks
Q: Why do pilgrims pants keep falling down?
A: Because their belt buckles are on their hats!
Cheers to the perfect Christmas gift. Surely you know any number of people that deserve the gift of monkey butt powder. The container alone is worth the price of admission! (via Dave Barry)
Jeers to those communist secular humanists at the Salvation Army. When I went into Schnuck's supermarket on Wednesday, Salvo volunteers responded to kettle donations with a hearty, "Happy Holidays!" Call the AFA! What will we tell the children????? Begun the War on Christmas has! Speaking of:
Cheers to Best Buy, who has ad circulars in some markings wishing customers a Happy Eid al-Adha, the Muslim holiday that celebrates the end of the Hadj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. As the NPR report summary understates, "Some people have complained that Best Buy is giving Christmas short shrift." Wanna bet they are either Islamophobes or AFA types?
Jeers to Missouri state Sen. Cynthia Davis, who holds a commanding lead in the race for Turkey of the Year on the Fired Up! Missouri blog. Reading her body of work turns up such low-lights as, "it's not the job of the government or the schools to provide vaccines", joining Orly Taitz's birther lawsuit, or her classic "hunger can be a positive motivator" in stating her opposition to state-funded school lunches.
That said, U.S. Rep Todd Akin (R-Town and Country) is making a strong late bid to out-crazy Cynthia Davis. The Pilgrims were escaping socialism? Bwa-hahahahahah!
Cheers to Fox News? Pat Bataillon of The Beachwood Reporter says they deserve one, for:
....helping Republicans to wear out their welcome with Americans. I will thank you at this time next year as well.
If Faux News can do for Sarah Palin what they're doing for the Republican Party, I think she'll do well to get a job as a casino greeter after 2012!
And now, a word from our sponsor:
If you have lived in the Oklahoma City television market for any length of time--I lived in OKC for 12 years, so that qualifies me--you can probably sing this jingle on command anytime, anywhere. For those of you not initiated, sit back and enjoy this little tune, truly from the land that time forgot:
B.C. Clark Jewelers premiered the jingle in 1956(!). They attempted to change it in 1961, but the backlash was so great they went back to the old one within hours of the new one's first airing! Over time, the jingle has become a central Oklahoma tradition, and is even performed by school choirs as part of their holiday concerts!
Bonus clip: Native Oklahoman Megan Mullaly sings the jingle on the Tonight Show!
Speaking of Oklahoma, Cheers to state Rep. Al McAffrey. When state Sen. Steve Russell (R-Del City) introduced legislation to exempt Oklahoma from the recently passed Hate Crimes Act. Rep. McAffrey fired a broadside:
Senator Russell is employing the same old tired arguments from yesteryear that have attempted to hold Oklahoma back. Preventing crimes against Oklahomans because of who they are is in no way an attack on free speech. That argument is nothing but empty rhetoric used to scare and mislead folks.
I don't know about Senator Russell, but I enlisted in the United States Navy to fight for the rights of all Americans regardless of their skin color, gender or who they are. Today, I'm serving in the State Legislature to do the same thing: fight for the rights of all Oklahomans. That's a fight I'll never give up."
Well done. Rep. McAffrey also has the distinction of being Oklahoma's first openly gay legislator (yes! In Oklahoma! I was suprised also), representing an island of blue inside the mostly red confines of Oklahoma. More like this, please.
Awwwwwww to Young Smart Cars In Love. Just click the link. You'll thank me later.
Finally, Cheers to Jill Richardson, who shared about her difficult but ultimately happy journey one year since the loss of her brother in this reccommended diary. I've been on the journey myself, and have lost my way, and am working on finding my way back. Her courage to face up to her fears and do the work inspires me.
Inky says, I'm watching you to make sure you hit that reco button!
I'll be in and out of comments this afternoon as work permits. Meantime, the floor is open! What do you have to Cheer and Jeer about today?