From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE
Oh, you people...
Got the April newsletter from the ShelterBox folks in the mail yesterday. Thought I'd share this tidbit from it:
Elsa Cade, Boundless Blogger
Elsa Cade, also known as TexMex to readers of a weblog, raised $130,000 for 130 ShelterBoxes in the weeks following the earthquake in Haiti. A Rotarian for nine years and frequent donor to ShelterBox, Cade posted a daily diary to DailyKos.com, a political web site with 2.5 million visitors per month. Cade asked readers to donate to ShelterBox through ShelterBoxUSA.org and then report back. "I thought if we could raise money for one box, that would be good," says Cade.
Not bad for a bunch of dirty effin' hippies, huh. TexMex adds via email:
I'm pleased to be mentioned in the newsletter. They are a first class organization. But really, I was more thrilled to have been the lightning strike that burned a connection between the bloggers at Daily Kos and ShelterBox. That, I think was the best part of the experience.
As I have repeatedly said, it's all about the goodhearted people at Daily Kos, their families and friends that donated online to ShelterBox. It's also about ShelterBox having it's game together and being ready when Daily Kos came to call. Now, the relationships that were built between individual members of Daily Kos, the ShelterBox volunteers and the suffering people of Haiti, Chile, Mexico, China, etc. will be an enduring gift of goodwill for a long time to come. Rotary is made up of many small business people in many towns and cities, and I love it that they'll see that we put our money where our mouth is. I was just the sandwich board man, All of you opened your wallets and hearts in a time of financial uncertainly. I thank each and every one of you.
And the big picture from the SB newsletter:
We celebrate our tenth anniversary this year knowing that with the experience, networks and infrastructure we have established on the ground, and with our growing body of enthusiastic supporters, we are now in the strong position to help significantly more people each year by delivering hope and renewal in the iconic green box.
The attention on Haiti has faded, but the severity of their situation has certainly not. What say we spring for another box or two?
Cheers and Jeers starts in There's Moreville... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Note: Yesterday I wrapped a bunch of dog poop up in a newspaper, put a bow on it, rated it a 'Triple-A Best Buy,' and sold it to my neighbor as a "bag of gold" for ten thousand bucks. She threw it away in disgust and stormed off. That's when I cashed in on my dog-poop-rejection insurance. Hellooooo, Aruba!!!
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til the Kentucky Derby: 3
Days `til the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival in Louisiana: 2
Percent of Americans who said they were "confident" or "very confident" about a strong economic rebound in 2008: 23%
Percent of them who are today: 33%
(Source: BIGresearch via USA Today)
Number of offshore drilling accidents between 2001 and 2007: 1,400
(Source: AP)
Number of letters in "Spill, baby, spill": 14
Number of times the average person will fart today: 14
(Source: MSNBC via Kossack Aabshier)
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Mid-week Rapture Index: 173 (including 5 volcanoes and 1 pooped Pope). Soul Protection Factor 12 lotion is recommended if you’ll be walking amongst the heathen today.
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Puppy Pic of the Day: Crikey.
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CHEERS to the new [bleep] deal. Sorry, Biden. Your "big fuckin' deal" is soooo five minutes ago. During yesterday's mostly-for-showboating-rights grilling of Goldman Sachs executives, Senator Carl Levin enshrined a new catchphrase into our national lexicon while quoting an internal email: "Boy, that was one shitty deal!" Goldman got billions out of that shitty deal, by the way. But We The People got something out of it, too: a new catchphrase. Awesome!
P.S. This quote in Time from former UBS trader Philipp Meyer sums up the mindset of the banksters in a mere 23 words: "If running the economy off the cliff makes you money, you will do it, and you will do it every day of the week." Tell me again what constitutes terrorism?
JEERS to oil, oil everywhere. This is one reason (among many) I despise the mindset of Sarah Palin and her rabidly ideological followers: every time she trots out that "Drill, baby, drill" line, she sounds like a cheerleader jacked up on Skittles at a Friday night high-school football game. It's sassy! It's brassy! It's a guaranteed applause line! But when things go wrong, like an epic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that's spewing 42,000 gallons a day, suddenly it's not so much fun anymore. See, Palinites and Palinettes, the continued need for oil exploration (assuming there is one) is nothing to get all rah-rah about. It's something that is only necessary because you Republicans haven't done one thing on a large (or even a medium) scale to wean us off of oil. And why is that? Because oil slips nicely into your macho, alpha-male, daddy-party schtick you think makes you look tough. Actually, it makes you look clumsy, antiquated and really ill-informed. The spill in the Gulf, which at this point is looking rather Exxon-Valdez'ish, should be a wake-up call for you crude people: it's time to put away your pom-poms and get serious about energy, dammit. This concludes this rant of no apparent comic value.
CHEERS to amazing medical tricks. I don’t wanna know the details. I don’t wanna know the details. I don't wanna know the details. But, man, how amazing is it that Spanish doctors beat the rest of the world to the punch by giving a man the first full-face transplant. Amazing. When asked by Arizona's governor if they could put a happy face on their new "Papers, please" bill, the surgeons said---oh, say it with me, you know what's coming---"Hey, we're doctors, not miracle workers."
CHEERS to the cold stuff. Chlorofluorocarbon lovers rejoice! Willis H. Carrier received his patent for the air conditioner (specifically, his method of "dew point control") 96 years ago today. Sadly, it made the front porch obsolete and started the anti-social phenomenon known as `cocooning.' But do you want to spend your summer without it?
CHEERS to the cold stiff. Happy 252nd birthday to "#5" James Monroe. He creeped people out by wearing his revolution-era clothing and a powdered wig at a time when doing so was long out of style. He also told Europe and Russia to keep their paws off the west and then sucked up to the AARP by snagging Florida. And then this (From Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents by Cormac O'Brien):
Secretary of the Treasury William Crawford once came calling on the president with a stack of patronage recommendations, all of which Monroe rejected. Enraged, Crawford threw a temper tantrum and demanded to know whom Monroe intended to appoint; the president replied it was none of Crawford's damn business. Crawford snapped and actually advanced on the chief executive with his cane raised, calling Monroe a "damned infernal old scoundrel." Monroe then stepped to the fireplace, seized a pair of fire tongs, and chased his secretary of the treasury from the Executive Mansion.
Historians call it "The night Monroe went mad." Fox News calls it "The inspiration for The Glenn Beck Show."
JEERS to civil rights at the speed of snail. Gosh, California, what's your hurry? Slow down.....
By a vote of 62-0, the California assembly has voted to strip a [1950s] law which would have required the state to invest in research and treatment to cure gays and lesbians of their sexual orientation of any reference to gays. ... The antiquated law classified homosexuality as a sexually deviant behavior, which the American Psychiatric Association has not considered it since the 1970’s.
But diva behavior? Guilty!
CHEERS to loopholes from Heaven. Starting in 2014, you'll be fined ($695 the first year) by the federal government if you don’t have health insurance. BUT...people can get out of it, says USA Today, because of "...religious beliefs, or because they are members of Indian tribes." I'm changing my name to Chief Sitting Buddha. Baddaboom baddabing.
JEERS to words that bite back. Forty three years ago today, on April 28, 1967, General William Westmoreland said that the U.S. "would prevail in Vietnam." The producer of Laugh-In replied: "Hey, you mind if we use that?"
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Five years ago in C&J: April 28, 2005
JEERS to the charge of the lightweight brigade. A certain leader whose name rhymes with Gorge Bubble Spew Tush has never vetoed a bill during his presidency. So it made headlines yesterday when he threatened to drop the ax on the highway bill. Problem is, the Senate voted 94-6 FOR the bill, so they could easily override Bush's veto. Karl Rove issued a stern warning to the president: no more yappin' while I'm nappin'.
JEERS to J.C. Elementary School. In Odessa, Texas (yeah...that state again), the school board voted to have Bible class taught in their public schools. Lesson #1: "And lo, God saw that Lot (or Job or one o' them little snots) finished not his homework...and yea, he was stoned to death." Better get workin' on those fractions, kiddos.
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And just one more...
CHEERS to seeing anti-immigration red...and liberty white! The tea party movement has vicariously brought only bad publicity for tea makers around the world. But one industry---and kudos to The Full Ginsburg for bringing this to our attention---is thriving. So without further ado, here's a little thank-you message to the tea partiers from the "CEO" of a certain crayon company. Very sweet. But if they really want to endear themselves to 'em, they'll bring back that all-American color that reflects a more innocent, freedom-loving time: "flesh."
Have a nice Wednesday. Shake your groove thang. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
CHEERS AND JEERS---WE'D STAND BESIDE YOU IF WE WEREN'T SO SCARED
---Bart Simpson
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