From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
Police Threaten Religious Freedom
Protected by a newly-passed Religious Freedom Restoration Act law and a freshly-minted 501(c)(3) designation by the IRS, the First Church of Cannabis---it's like the best of all churches without all the crappy hell and damnation parts---is scheduled to have its first service today in Indianapolis after three months of preparation:
[Bill] Levin, a 59-year-old carpenter, started the church on March 26, 2015, to push the limits of Indiana’s new Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which prohibits the government from “substantially burdening” anyone’s right to exercise his or her religion. Earlier this year, the controversial bill sparked protests from gay rights groups claiming it would allow for businesses to discriminate against gays and lesbians citing religious beliefs.
Levin also protested the bill, but said that in signing it, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence provided the “fertilizer” that allowed his new religion to bloom. “After Pence made the announcement that he would sign it in a private ceremony, I became born again,” Levin said.
He adds: “Our church will not buy, sell or trade in the product...but we will encourage our members to enjoy the plant in our church, which is a sanctuary, a safe zone.”
Unfortunately, the opening service will be cannabis-free, thanks to local law enforcement's threat to stomp all over the Church's religious freedom, using every tank, drone and bazooka at its disposal. But, says Levin, it's just a bump in the road:
The Police dept has waged a display of shameless misconceptions and voluntary ignorance. We will do our first service without the use of any cannabis. CANNABIS WILL BE PROHIBITED ON THE FIRST SERVICE.
We will not be dragged into criminal court for their advantage. We will meet them in a civil court where the laws are clear about religious persecution. We do not start fights. We Finish Them!
In the meantime, First Church of Cannabis supporters everywhere (including those in Oregon, where recreational marijuana
becomes legal today) can still adhere to the tenets of Cannabiterianism, including:
• Don’t be an asshole. Treat everyone with love, as an equal.
• The day starts with your smile every morning. When you get up, wear it first.
• Help others when you can. Not for money, but because it’s needed.
• Do not take advantage of people. Do not intentionally hurt anything.
• Never start a fight, only finish them.
• Do not be a “troll” on the Internet; respect others without name-calling and being vulgarly aggressive.
I know. Radical stuff. See the other six in the "Deity Dozen"
here. And if the spirit moves you, you can follow the FCoC's quest for religious freedom
at their Facebook page.
Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Bong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Note: This blog needs more goddam bunting!
Thank you.
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9 days!!!
By the Numbers:
Days 'til Jon Stewart's last
Daily Show and the first GOP debate:
36
Days 'til the
Moxie Festival in Lisbon, Maine:
9
Percent of all traffic made up of heavy- and medium-duty trucks and buses:
5%
Percent of all fuel consumption and carbon emissions those vehicles account for:
20%
(Source: EPA)
Consumer sentiment in May and June, respectively,
the biggest increase since January:
90.7 / 96.1
(University of Michigan)
Year in which more Americans were considered obese than merely overweight:
2012
(Source: CDC)
Percent chance that Tama the dearly-departed Japanese stationmaster cat
is now a goddess:
100%
Women's World Cup Soccer Semifinals
USA 2 Germany 0 (USA will defeat either Japan or England, depending on which of them wins today.)
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Mid-week Rapture Index: 180 (including 4 marks of the beast and 1 mad cicada wrangler). Soul Protection Factor 24 lotion is recommended if you’ll be walking amongst the heathen today.
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Puppy Pic of the Day: Saved!
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Let loose the darts of lawn!
CHEERS to July! America turns 239 (but thanks to a recent facelift and tummy tuck, we don’t look a day over 235) and Canada turns 148. It's also National Baked Beans Month and National Ice Cream Month, and on the 11th we'll be celebrating something called
Feest van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap (Translation: "The takeover of the planet by horny gerbils in chaps"). Recreational pot becomes legal in Oregon today! Scott Walker and John Kasich squeeze themselves into the GOP clown car and
Berniementum continues its upward trajectory. The full moon---aka a hay moon---is
tonight so make a note to look up yonward and wink at at Neil Armstrong and Elvis. The
New Horizons probe will come within a galactic whisker of Plutio on the 14th. Sequel Mania hits theatres with
Minions (a spinoff of
Despicable Me),
Magic Mike 2, Terminator 4, Mission Impossible 5 and
Vacation 4. By the way: what does a teabagger do in July while thinking about the likelihood that Democrats will easily keep the White House in 2016? Shake 'n bake.
CHEERS to liberal victories in unexpected places. As the Supreme Court justices ditch their robes and quills for the frilly freedom of pirate shirts and bellbottoms, it's worth pausing to ask the question: What the hell just happened? Tom Goldstein at SCOTUSblog ran the numbers and basically what happened is, the Notorious RBG wing of the court rode the Scalia wing like a show donkey:
I think Scalia works a summer job here.
I count 26 cases this Term that were both close (5-4 or 6-3) and ideological (in the sense that they broke down principally on ideological lines, with ideology seemingly an important factor). Of the 26 cases, the left prevailed in 19. … The right prevailed in 7.
I also considered the 10 cases I consider most significant. Of those, the left prevailed in 8 [and] the right prevailed in 2…
As usual, we'll happily take the victories. And then run like hell.
CHEERS to the final countdown. Two weeks from today, Kossacks and other lefties from a who's who of progressive organizations will start descending on Phoenix for the annual activism party that is the Netroots Nation convention. The grapevine tells me that the official hotels are full up and Arizona's Democrats are ready to welcome one and all with open arms and cactus flowers. Here are a few recent newsy bits from Raven Brooks and company:
July 16-19
• Bernie Sanders and O'Malley are making their first NN appearances. Hillary joined us in Chicago in 2007 back when it was still called Yearly Kos. I'm not sure if I'd be surprised or not if she made a last-minute pit stop there, but it would be a nice gesture to the base.
• NEW this year: the Netroots Music Project, which "brings together musicians, organizers and thinkers for 3 days to exchange new culture-changing ideas in 9 panels/talks/presentations with a theme centered around the past, present, and future of music, the arts, and social justice movements." Yes…there will be enough cowbell.
• This is great: we're leaving behind our very own mural by "a group of artists from the JustSeeds Artist Co-operative in support of the work done by the Colibrí Center for Human Rights."
• Also new this year: Elon James White is producing short but powerful pre-convention videos highlighting the struggles of immigrants in Arizona in a series called AZ Dispatch. You can watch the first four here.
Michael and I won't make it to this year's event. So if you're going, post lots of pics, and take a dip in the chocolate fountain for us.
CHEERS to the turning point. 152 years ago today, on July 1, 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg began, marking the high-water mark of the nasty old Confederacy. (For the record, Maine won the war, although we love to hate to brag about it, because it's true but we're modest.) In a show of magnanimity---because, hey, what's a little tyranny between friends---I bought the South a gift today, on account of I thought it was fitting for the occasion. It's an actual Robert E. Lee cuckoo clock:
Instead of a cuckoo, a little toy cannon goes off every hour. Who knew treason could be so whimsical?
CHEERS to mo' money for mo' work. If it's not too inconvenient for you, low- and middle-income workers, our Democratic president, Barack Obama, has three words for your bosses: Overtime equality, bitches!"
We've failed to update overtime regulations for years---and an exemption meant for highly paid, white collar employees now leaves out workers making as little as $23,660 a year---no matter how many hours they work.
This week, I'll head to Wisconsin to discuss my plan to extend overtime protections to nearly 5 million workers in 2016, covering all salaried workers making up to about $50,400 next year. That's good for workers who want fair pay, and it's good for business owners who are already paying their employees what they deserve -- since those who are doing right by their employees are undercut by competitors who aren't.
Not to be outdone, Republicans responded by saying they have a plan of their own. It's called the "Stop Obama's Overtime Expansion Plan At All Costs" plan. SOOEPAACP for short.
"Happy Canada Day, hoser."
CHEERS to our favorite constitutional monarchy! Happy birthday, Canada! As America prepares to celebrate the violent upheaval and protracted war with Britain that led to our independence, our neighbors to the north are commemorating the cool, calm, and civilized "union of the British North America provinces in a federation under the name of Canada July 1st." Awesome
whoooooo!!! We luv ya Canada. (Disclaimer: But not your tar sands, which you are free to keep---IN THE GROUND PLEASE. In fact, we insist, and we're keeping William Shatner hostage until you agree.) Have fun, but don't get too crazy, eh---you could tear a rotator cuff politely waving at your neighbors.
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Ten years ago in C&J: July 1, 2005
JEERS to the ol' bait and switch. While everyone's eyes are focused on the ailing William Rehnquist, Sandra Day O'Connor sneaks out the back door, depriving us of a Supreme Court justice who swung with the best of `em. (But Bush v. Gore will always be an unforgivable act of political activism, ma'am.) Ugh...let the replacement shitstorm begin.
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And just one more…
CHEERS to the do-gooders among us. Every Friday our C&J poll asks, "Who won the week?" We do our best to round up a dozen or so representative samples of the people who make us feel a little mushy-gushy and remind us that all is not lost just yet. Thanks to your smarts and good sense, the Class of the Second Quarter of 2015 is a good-lookin' bunch. The envelopes, please…
April 3 Secretary of State John Kerry and his team, for successfully negotiating the Iran nuclear framework
April 10 Feidin Santana, the young man who recorded the murder of Walter Scott by Officer Michael Slager in North Charleston, SC
April 17 The Tulsa World newspaper, for uncovering the incompetence, cronyism, and cover-up in the Tulsa County Sheriff's department in the wake of the killing of Eric Harris by "reserve deputy" Robert Bates
April 24 Loretta Lynch, who was finally confirmed by the Senate as our nation's first female African-American Attorney General
Each winner receives a free
talking toilet paper spool.
May 1 The Baltimore citizens who protested peacefully and helped clean up and maintain order, and prosecuting attorney Marilyn Mosby who charged 6 police officers in the death of Freddie Gray
May 8 None
May 15 Pope Francis, for formally recognizing the Palestinian state in a treaty, and warning that global warming must be taken seriously
May 22 David Letterman, along with his writers, crew and bandleader Paul Shaffer, for 33 years of groundbreaking late-night silliness
May 29 Ireland, where the people voted overwhelmingly to approve marriage rights for same-sex couples
June 5 Hillary Clinton, who is calling for an early voting period of at least 20 days in every state…and universal voter registration
June 12 The Democrats in the House who slowed the fast-track approval process for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement
June 19 None, due to Charleston massacre.
June 26 President Obama: rousing Pinckney eulogy in Charleston; multiple Supreme Court wins including one for the ACA; scores coveted Pacific Trade fast-track authority.
Who will win in the third quarter? I'm sworn to secrecy, but here's a hint: a guy with unkempt white hair and a Brooklyn accent. Stay tuned!
Have a nice Wednesday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
Most Americans don't know Bill inn Portland Maine like I do, so it's only natural to wonder what testimony I might offer after covering Cheers and Jeers for the last 12 years. My testimony amounts to a warning: Don't believe a word the man says.
---Tom Moran, Newark Star-Ledger
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