From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
Netroots for the Troops: Year 4
As you know, we have a couple on-the-ground fisticuffs going on in Iraq and Afghanistan at the moment (though the light at the end of Iraq's tunnel is distinctively brighter). And regardless of how you feel about the civilian and military leadership's handling of their mission, there's no denying that the grunts on the ground are still doing the heavy lifting: patrolling streets and neighborhoods. Building and repairing stuff. Training the Iraq and Afghan militaries. Serving as dispute-solvers and referees. Guarding things and searching things. Eating shitty food. Often being bored out of their frigging minds.
And also wondering when they'll get new gloves and socks, maybe a handful of fresh CDs or DVDs, with a letter from back home. Little things like that make a big difference over there.
As soon as I publish C&J today, I'm ponying up 50 bucks to kick off C&J's fundraising effort in support of the 2011 Netroots for the Troops (NFTT) campaign. Their goal is as simple as it is appreciated by those who benefit from it:
To put together and ship care packages to American soldiers currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, supplying them with stuff they tell us they need---including work gloves (they go through a pair a month), phone cards, CDs, DVDs, key rings with LED flashlights, gel insoles for boots, and more. The packages will be assembled by volunteers and sent to the troops from the Netroots Nation convention in Minneapolis.
Last year NFTT assembled 300 care packages (a recap is here), and it's estimated that over a thousand people---recipients, donors, those who packed boxes in Las Vegas and the friends and families of all of the above---were positively affected by the effort. This year we're hoping to match or exceed that. With your help, we can make short work of it.
To kick in a few bucks, click here for the donor page. And if you're a member of one of the new groups formed here at DK4, consider forming a team and pooling your donations.
Contributions are tax deductible. (Netroots For The Troops got its official 501(c)3 status this year.) Kossack Tony Gattis ("TexDem") and a small army of volunteers are set to do the procuring and packing and shipping. But with only 87 days 'til Netroots Nation the urgency to get the funding in place is critical now. Many thanks for continuing this eagerly-awaited Netroots Nation tradition of supporting our troops in the field….and the sand…and the mountains…and and and…
Off to make that donation, Meanwhile Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Monday, March 21, 2011
Note: Happy spring!!! Or as we say here in Maine: "Happy Two Months Til Spring!!"
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til Mother's Day: 48
Days `til the National Spelling Bee: 72
Combined global land and sea temperature for February: 54.62 F
Rank of February, 2011 among warmest Februaries since recordkeeping began in 1880: #17
(Source: National Climatic Data Center)
Number of Subway shops at the end of 2010, officially surpassing McDonald's as the restaurant chain with the most locations: 33,749
(Source: Time)
Americans who think other people's manners with mobile devices are "good" or "excellent": 26%
Americans who think their own manners with mobile devices are "good" or "excellent": 91%
(Source: Ipsos poll via USA Today)
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NEW! "Meet Me in Minnesota!"
Brought to you by the Netroots Nation '11 convention in Minneapolis June 16-19 featuring keynote speaker Russ Feingold:
Minnesota is governed by a government. I know that's hard to believe, so I plan to pay a visit to the capitol building next door in St. Paul while I'm at Netroots Nation---just to make sure they're not bullshitting us. The governor, "allegedly," is Mark Dayton, the first Democrat to hold the position in 20 years. There are 67 senators and 134 representatives. In the 2008 election, Minnesota had the highest voter participation rate---only 28 percent stayed home.
Don’t forget that there are 40 Netroots Nation scholarships up for grabs this year, which include a free pass to the convention and hotel accommodations. Apply here. Next week: The capitol building---is it real or just a blow-up capitol building designed to fool the tourists? The answer will surprise you!!!!! (Assuming you're easily surprised by non-surprises.)
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Puppy Pic of the Day: Here's Larkin at you, kid.
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BLECH to Operation Odyssey Dawn. Wait a minute…this is looking awful familiar. The grainy green night footage of ack-ack tracer bullet thingees. Generals behind lecterns oozing cautious optimism. John McCain jumping up and down on CNN's couch with Joe Joe Lieberman crazy-glued to his hip. A coalition of the willing (Belgium! Britain! Spain! The Arab League. Wait, what? The Arab League? Really???) And, of course, the enemy forces scattering in disarray because we simply do not mess around. Oh, lovely---we're warrioring again, aren’t we? [Facepalm] But at least there might be something in it for the U.S. Marines: they can now cross off "Shores of Tripoli" on their Frequent Liberator cards. And if they make it to the Halls of Montezuma by the end of the month, they each get a free amphibious vehicle and a ten-dollar gas card. Memo to the Commander-in-Chief: stay away from aircraft carriers.
CHEERS to freedom lines. History in Egypt Saturday as voters went to the polls in record numbers. At issue: changes to their constitution. If our experience can be any guide, I'd start with this advice: to avoid a perpetual shitstorm, be real clear with the wording of your Second Amendment.
JEERS to Day 11. I know you're wondering what's happening in Japan. Basically, the rule of thumb I'm following is this: when a Japanese official stands in front of a microphone and gives a status update, I'll assume it's a couple shades worse than the words coming out of his mouth. So far it seems to be prudent. But the big story, of course, is Franklin Graham, Billy's son, dropping hints that the disaster in Japan means Jesus is coming back for another go-round. To which I say, great! I figure he's gotta be impervious to radiation, right? So he can just walk into the reactors with a hose and fill all the cooling pools with water, and then walk on the water to show how safe it is. Then we'll give the Messiah a hero's welcome in the States (he is, after all, an American). And then, since he's clearly a public employee, we'll cut his pension and strip him of his collective bargaining rights. So, anyway, that's what's happening in Japan.
CHEERS! to The Portland Press Herald. Wow---the opening line of their extended lead editorial in Friday's edition wasn't exactly tactful, but it sure got people's attention. At issue: Rep. Joe "You lie!" Wilson (R-SC) objects to the hiring of our former Democratic governor, John Baldacci, to conduct a "'deep-dive review' of the military's health care and wellness programs, going far beyond any policy studies being conducted by other staffers." And the Press Herald is calling bullshit (my bold):
For starters, let's stipulate that U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., is an idiot.
We say this not just because Wilson is trying to get Maine's former governor, John Baldacci, fired from his new federal job; we say it because, well, because Wilson is an idiot. […]
Wilson is of the opinion that the position is unnecessary. Wilson's opinion, however, must be taken with a grain of salt because his opinions are often wrong and just plain stupid. … More likely, Wilson is simply grandstanding as part House Republicans' ongoing commitment to mindless, random budget-cutting as opposed to meaningful pursuit of fiscal responsibility.
Ouch. That's gotta hurt. For Republicans, the truth always does.
CHEERS to the Nailbiter Heard Round the World. I remember it like it was just last year…mainly because it was. On March 21, 2010, the House finally passed the health insurance reform bill. And what a collection of "moments" we saw...from Stupak's grandstanding moment in the sun, to John Dingell showing off his gavel, to the House leadership locking arms and walking through a canopy of teabaggers like the protagonists of The Wizard of Oz skipping down the yellow brick road, to the hecklers that created mass hysteria (Barney Frank's term), and finally the moment that nobody wanted to arrive because they were all having so much darn fun: the final vote shortly before midnight. In a rare show of unity, Democrats and Republicans issued a joint statement shortly afterward: "Zzzzzzzzz..."
CHEERS to things that won’t make a lick of difference in the scheme of things but are still fun to read. Vice President Joe Biden has been a fierce advocate for passenger rail---not surprising since he rode to and from work on Amtrak for decades. In appreciation, the renovated Wilmington, Delaware station is being named after him. Also getting renamed: Concord, New Hampshire, which will now be known as Michele Bachmann's Waterloo.
CHEERS to close encounters. So Saturday night I get woken up by this weird clanging noise. I look outside and it's the moon---huge obnoxious my-shit-don’t-stink moon---so close that it's clanking against our gutters. So I called the cops. They towed it and made NASA pay the $125 fine. BiPM's neighborhood Watch: still battin' a thousand, bay-bee!
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Five years ago in C&J: March 21, 2006
JEERS to phony baloney. I support our troops. But I don't support their COs who send them on bogus missions to clean up---um---large patches of nothing. You guessed it: Operation Swarmer, starring 50 helicopters, was nothing more than a photo-op. And the weapons caches they confiscated? Three brooms and a rolling pin. (In the hands of an old Iraqi mother-in-law, they're deadlier than an RPG.)
CHEERS to Bush's worst nightmare. Ha Ha! Judge says Preznit has to keep on cleaning the air whether he wants to or not:
A federal appeals court on Friday overturned a clean-air regulation issued by the Bush administration that would have let many power plants, refineries and factories avoid installing costly new pollution controls to help offset any increased emissions caused by repairs and replacements of equipment. [...] "This is an enormous victory over the concerted efforts by the Bush administration to dismantle the Clean Air Act," Eliot Spitzer, the New York attorney general, whose office led the opposition from the states, said in an interview.
I think that governor's chair is going to fit Spitzer's tuckus nicely. [3/21/11 Update: Okay, okay…so I meant to write "CNN host's chair." Sue me.]
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And just one more…
CHEERS to second chances. Remember Phil Davidson, the apparently-unhinged Republican who screamed his speech when he announced his candidacy for Stark County (Ohio) treasurer? Surprise: he lost. But every so often I catch a glimpse of that golden moment in American politics and wonder what the heck ever happened to Ol' Phil. In a "web redemption" on Comedy Central's Tosh.0, we learn that a) he's totally pro-choice b) he's ingested a few illegal substances in his life c) he actually seems like a cool guy and d) he's running again, but this time aiming a bit lower than Stark County: namely, Washington, D.C. He doesn’t have a prayer. Too normal.
Have a nice Monday. May all your problems be measly. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
First look: Bill in Portland Maine suits up for 'Wonder Woman'
---USA Today
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