From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
Procter & Gamble For the Win
Gutsy ad directed by Mark Nickelsburg for Tide. Great storytelling. Socially aware. And equal parts suspense, hilarity and heart:
They should run that during the Super Bowl.
Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Note: As a special gift to C&J readers, last night while you were sleeping I coated your screen with lotion. Blogging never felt so silky smooth.
-
Vier Tage!!!
By the Numbers:
Days 'til elections in Canada:
24
Days 'til
Oktoberfest in Munich:
4
Year by which McDonald's will fully transition to cage-free eggs:
2025
Minimum number of eggs McDonald's buys annually, which amounts to 2% of the total in America:
2 billion
(Source: McDonald's)
Number of people in the U.S. convicted of ISIS-related charges:
12
Combined worth of Britain's monarchy:
$34.8 billion
Years it'll take to phase in a $15 minimum wage for fast-food workers in New York state:
3
-
Tuesday Words of Wisdom from the Right-wing Blogosphere:
The Breitbart crowd is just not warming up to Jeb!
They seem nice.
STAY OUT OF THE BUSHES. TRUMP 2016
---Niskey
Jeb Bush is the slowest one out of a none too swift family.
---Woud trees
El Jeburrito! es muy stupido!
---Melas
All together now: 1…2…3…
Classy!
-
Puppy Pic of the Day: Pardon the self-indulgence, but what a great shot my partner Michael (Common Sense Mainer) took of Haley looking cutie-p'tootey, and Fantom looking annoyed:
They both say hi in their respective native tongues.
-
CHEERS to Bernie in the lion's den. Jesus is all about love and socialism, so it made sense for Bernie Sanders---Spoiler Alert: he's Jewish---to spend some time preaching the gospel of taking-care-of-each-other-ism yesterday at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. (Transcript is here.) There was no pandering on his part---he respected the intelligence of his conservative audience enough to know he could deliver some unpleasant truths without them blowing a gasket:
Bernie delivers a dose of reality
to Liberty University yesterday.
"[T]he truth is, that a nation which in many ways was created, and I’m sorry to have to say this, from way back on racist principles, that’s a fact," Sanders said during a Q&A following his speech. "We have come a long way as a nation." […]
The senator acknowledged early on that there were major things students of the school, which was founded by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, would likely disagree with him on, but that he was there to try to find common ground. "I came here today because I believe from the bottom of my heart that it’s vitally important for people who hold different views to be able to engage in a civil discourse," Sanders said. He went on to address his steadfast beliefs in gay marriage, the right to an abortion, war as a last resort and paid family leave.
After his speech there was a brief Q&A session, and then the students padded off to their next classes:
Tax Cuts for Christ 101 and
Religiously Object Your Way to Prosperity.
CHEERS to a fine mission accomplished. President Obama's military invasion of Texas---code name Jade Helm 15---ends today, and by all accounts it was a rousing success. After subduing the militias, splitting the state in two and re-drawing certain boundaries, satellite technology reveals the outline of our new 51st state:
I hear the state flower is arugula.
JEERS to dueling insultists. Republican presidential contender Donald Trump got into hot water last week when it was revealed that he made fun of rival Carly Fiorina's facial features in front of a Rolling Stone reporter. The criticism was rightly swift and harsh. I mean, making fun of people's physical characteristics? Seriously? Who does he think he is…Carly Fiorina?
This morning's special in the C&J cafeteria: hypocrisy cakes with a side of crow pudding.
CHEERS to the very large Republican who actually did have a shot at becoming president. Happy 158th birthday to William Howard Taft. At 325 pounds, the 27th President (who later served as Chief Justice) was also our, um, "biggest boned." It's believed that his weight contributed to the fact that he was habitually sleepy. From Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents by Cormac O'Brien:
Not to be confused with
the Monopoly game dude.
William Taft had an alarming habit of dozing off at the drop of a hat. And nothing was so important that it couldn’t be slept through---including cabinet meetings, funerals (he was in the front row of one when a catnap came over him), and campaign engagements.
He once slept through a campaign motorcade in New York City---his open car cruised the streets, the great man snoring for all the city to see.
Pay
your respects here. And I doubt the old man would complain if you tossed him a bucket 'o ribs.
CHEERS to Pluto: up close and personal. More amazing pics from the New Horizons flyby were released by NASA. I still have to keep reminding myself that back in grade school it was always described as our most distant planet, but beyond that no one really knew much about it or what it looked like. Well, holy shit, here it is---the dome of Pluto:
Look carefully. Louie Gohmert's house is the third one on the left.
CHEERS to Passion of the Pigskin. On this date in 1920, the National Football League was formed in Canton, Ohio. A new study says that, even with advances in safety equipment, you have a twenty-five percent chance of developing a serious brain injury or disease if you're a player in the NFL. Even worse, that goes up to one hundred percent if you become the head of the NFL.
-
Ten years ago in C&J: September 15, 2005
In her plus column: pro-choice.
JEERS to compassionate conservatism as usual. Despite a close vote in the Senate yesterday, Bush's lackadaisical rules on birth defect-causing mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants
will stay in place. Says Maine's moderate GOP Senator Olympia Snowe: "I am deeply disappointed by the Senate's failure to send the Environmental Protection Agency back to the drawing board to come up with a rule that actually protects our children and our environment from mercury pollution." The knuckledragger wing of the Republican party replied that, when it comes to the culture of life, two heads are better than one.
[9/15/15 Update: Half a dozen years later, Snowe fled the Senate after realizing the Republican party had turned into a rabid gaggle of obstructionist orcs in suits. Today, of course, she spends her time complaining that "both sides do it." Sad.]
-
And just one more…
CHEERS to auction paddles jus' a' flippin' and a' flappin'. The annual Netroots Nation fall auction is now into day seven, and you can check out the goods here. As always, there's something for everyone---a NN 14 program autographed by Elizabeth Warren and other political collectibles, art, books, memorabilia and more. If you plan to go to St. Louis next July, you should bid on the front-row table at Adam B's world-famous pub quiz or, even better, one or more of the backstage passes. As Kossack Vicki can attest, you may just end up meeting someone back there who thinks you're a BFD:
(Photo courtesy of Vicki Roush, a well-known goddess.)
Proceeds go to fund the annual NN convention and its activities.
Please bid responsibly. With a drink in your hand.
Oh, and I believe today's the day self-employment taxes are due. Or as I call it: National Pound of Flesh Day. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
-
Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
"People want to know that the person they are voting for is comfortable in the Cheers and Jeers kiddie pool and they are filtering everything through Bill in Portland Maine so that it comes out in absolute gibberish."
---David Axelrod
-