From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
Now Playing: The NRA's Worst Nightmare---The Truth
Robert Greenwald is the Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated filmmaker who has exposed the inner workings of Fox News, Wal Mart, the run-up to the Iraq war, the stomach-turning war profiteering that occurred in the invasion's aftermath, health insurance system abuses, the Koch empire and more. When he emerges from the editing room, the subjects of his movies cringe. The latest evils in his cinematic sights are the gun industry and their evil flack NRA. Tough stuff:
Making a Killing: Guns, Greed, and The NRA tells the stories of how guns, and the billions made off of them, affect the lives of everyday Americans. It features personal stories from people across the country who have been affected by gun violence, including survivors and victims' families. The film exposes how the powerful gun companies and the NRA are resisting responsible legislation for the sake of profit---and thereby putting people in danger.
The film looks into gun tragedies that include unintentional shootings, domestic violence, suicides, mass shootings and trafficking, and what we can do to put an end to this profit-driven crisis. Through this film and campaign, Brave New Films will work with partners to fight for a country where public safety is more valued than profit.
More on Greenwald and the film via The Los Angeles Times. You can sign up here to watch the movie for free online when it becomes available later this year, or click here for a screening near you. I hear that Wayne LaPierre is already in full freakout mode over it. Good.
P.S. This is a good time to also mention the stellar work our own David Waldman (aka Kagro X) does documenting the endless parade of careless idiots who, as he says, “second amendment themselves” or others in his regular DKos #GunFail posts, on Daily Kos Radio and in his twitter feed. Ugly job, but we’re glad he does it.
Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Note: Don’t forget to bring your blast shields to this evening's jazzercise class, as this time we'll be using live hand grenades. ---Mgt.
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til the Olympic Games in Rio: 142
Days 'til the Chicago Beer Festival: 10
Percent of the House Republican caucus and Senate Republicans, respectively, who refuse to accept the reality of climate change, according to a new report by the Center for American Progress Action Fund: 59%, 70%
Minimum number of Americans those 182 House & Senate climate change deniers represent based on the size of their districts: 200 million
Time the Russian military was in Syria before announcing its pullout Monday: 5½ months
Estimated annual amount the cannabis industry will pump into the U.S. economy by 2020 if current business and legalization trends continue, according to the 2016 Marijuana Business Factbook: $44 billion
Eurozone industrial output for January, its highest level in six years: 2.1%
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Mid-week Rapture Index:
182 (including 4 marks of the beast and 1 mathematical equation proving the End Times are here). 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:
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CHEERS to terminating the suspense. If my source---”the internet”---is correct, President Obama is going to pick his Supreme Court nominee today. And since it’s a day ending in y, the Republican leadership in charge of judicial confirmations will pick their noses today.
CHEERS to Super Duper Pooper Scooper Looper Mooper…um…[consults rhyming dictionary]…Stupor Whooper Snooper Trooper TUESDAY! Damn, what a night for our fauxmocracy! Primary action was heated and intense in five big states yesterday. The winners:
Ohio went for Clinton and Kasich
Florida went for Clinton and Drumpf
Illinois went for Clinton and Drumpf
North Carolina went for Clinton and Drumpf
Missouri went for Clinton and Drumpf
And with the junior senator from Florida bowing out last (I can’t believe all those dick jokes didn’t seal the deal), we now know two things: 1) President Obama knows exactly what he’s doing and 2) Marco Rubio does not. Next week's stops for the Team D road show are Arizona, Idaho, Utah, Hawaii, Alaska and Washington state. Thanks for playing and don’t forget to tip your server.
JEERS to a textbook lesson in buck-passing 101. Here's a recap of yesterday's second round of House Oversight Committee hearings on the Flint water-poisoning disaster (some video highlights here), which included the former emergency manager on duty during the switchover to the new water supply, the EPA official in charge of the region and a former Flint mayor:
"He did it!"
"No, he did it!"
"No, she did it!"
"No, they did it!"
"Blame the feds!"
"Blame the state!"
"Blame the emergency manager!"
"Blame the mayor!"
”Blame the governor!”
"Blame the EPA!"
"Blame the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality!"
"Blame the janitor emptying the wastebasket in the back of this hearing room!"
Excellent. That clears everything up. I’m sure the people in Flint bathing this morning with an 8-ounce bottle of Aquafina feel much better.
CHEERS to the end of a very bad man. As Russia skedaddles its military units out of Syria, Team USA continues rendering senior ISIS commanders inoperative. The latest: Omar al-Shishani got Omar-al-shishkabobed in Syria during an air strike. The unlucky sap who happens to be the next #2 in line will now assume #1's duties. In fairness, it's really not a hard job to learn. In fact, you can boil ISIS's mission down to three words: kill, smash, repeat. But at least he’ll get the key to the executive despot lounge, so he’s livin’ the dream.
CHEERS to Ol' Shortstuff. Happy 265th birthday to "Father of the Constitution" James Madison---at 5-foot-4 our president (1809-1817) with the lowest center of gravity and our next-to-last Founding Father to occupy the White House (Monroe ended the era after him). Frankly, it's amazing what he accomplished considering that he was one sick puppy:
James Madison was without a doubt the sickliest president in American history.
The man's life reads like the index to a medical textbook. Influenza, rheumatism, hemorrhoids---you name it, he had it. He suffered frequent bouts of illness from a young age and abstained from serving in the Continental Army during the Revolution on account of them. […]
The location of the founded capital---Washington---didn’t help. The area's proximity to a swamp meant summers there could be infernally humid and plagued by fetid, unhealthy air. While unpleasant for most people, it was downright crippling for Madison, whose "bilous indispositions," as he called them, usually forced him to flee D.C. during the hot months.
---From Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents by Cormac O'Brien
And yet he lived to be one of our oldest ex-presidents, expiring in 1836 at the ripe old age of 85. Madison was also at the helm during the War of 1812, when The Star Spangled Banner was written. Pay your respects here. Preferably under the red glare of some sort of rocket-like projectile.
CHEERS to going backwards. Sometimes Takesie backsies are a good thing:
The Obama administration said Tuesday it will not allow offshore drilling in the southeast Atlantic Ocean---a significant reversal from its original plan and a major victory to coastal communities and environmental activists who fought the proposal. […]
Claire Douglass, the environmental group Oceana’s campaign director for climate and energy, said the news was a major victory. “This is a huge win, not only for the Atlantic Ocean but for the process that it fostered,” she told McClatchy. “At the beginning, the Obama administration made it clear they wanted to hear from the public and stakeholders that this would impact the most, and it’s clear he listened.”
The White House on Tuesday said the Interior Department received more than 1 million comments on the proposed draft.
Executives for Big Oil and their political lapdogs gots the sadz this morning. So if you see one of 'em, give 'em a big hug. And use the opportunity to discretely slap a "Loser" sign on their back so they'll be comforted by the healing sound of laughter all day.
CHEERS and JEERS to Daylight Saving time. Lovin' it because it's still light out at 6 o'clock! Hatin' it because, now that it's dark at wake-up time again, I get paranoid about oversleeping, so this is my regular post-DST sleep cycle:
Zzzzzz...[Jolt awake, check the time]...Zzzzzz…[Jolt awake, check the time]… Zzzzzz…[Jolt awake, check the time]… Zzzzzz…[Jolt awake, check the time]… Zzzzzz…[Jolt awake, check the time]…
It's like being an audience member at a Ben Carson speech.
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Ten years ago in C&J: March 16, 2006
CHEERS to the burning Bush. No doubt the latest Pew Research poll has been posted everywhere in Bloggerland. But for the C&J record book:
George W. Bush approval rating: 33%
The single word most frequently associated with George W. Bush today is "incompetent," and close behind are two other increasingly mentioned descriptors: "idiot" and "liar."
In January 2005, Bush earned a lofty 89% approval from members of his own party, but that has declined to 73% in the current survey. Among independents, the number approving of Bush's job performance has fallen from 47% in January 2005 to 26% today.
Screw the presidential library. This guy needs to start work on a bunker.
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And just one more…
CHEERS to the coolest POTUS ever. You really want to see this. President Obama freestyles with Hamilton composer-performer Lin-Manuel Miranda---and let’s also give it up for the Marine behind ‘em on the sticks. Watch your toes…there's a mic drop:
Say it with me (again): So distant! So aloof! Impeach!
Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
"What Bill in Portland Maine is, I believe, is a brat."
---Johnny Depp
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