From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
Please rise for the playing of our National Anthem.
By an official Cuban band. In Cuba. For President Barack Obama. Who is standing right in front of them. In Cuba.
Still having trouble---the good kind---wrapping my head around this official visit. Amazing. As for today's schedule:
• The President delivers remarks to the people of Cuba at the Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso.
• Then he meets with members of civil society, including human rights activists.
• Then it's off to a Major League Baseball exhibition game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban National Team at the Estadio Latinoamericano.
Then he'll fly to Argentina. And boy will his arms be tired.
Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Note: Since today is National Goof Off Day, I'm not writing a note. Whee.
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til the start of the Memorial Day weekend: 65
Days 'til the American Sign Language Festival at Northeastern University in Boston: 10
Rank of Denmark, Switzerland and Iceland on the U.N.'s latest list of happiest countries on earth: #1, #2, #3
Rank of the United States on the happiness list: #13
John McCain's approval rating, according to PPP: 26%
President Obama's approval rating according to Gallup's daily tracking: 52%
Number of microscopic saliva droplets the average talker sprays per minute: 300 (Source: The internet)
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Tuesday Words of Wisdom from the Right-wing Blogosphere:
Let's see what the gentle souls at Breitbart have to say about President Obama nominating Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court:
“If Obama wants him then America does not.”
“If Orrin Hatch thinks he's a moderate, then he is far left.”
“McConnell's already told Obama NO. So, thanks for playing, Obama, you purple-lipped demon. You have 10 months. Good day, sir.”
“Hussein is just concerned with forcing his Marxism on Americans that do not agree with hus fanatical ideaology.”
“What Garland is is a jewish supremacist who hates White people. White privilege is a lie perpetrated by jewish supremacists like Noel Ignatiev and Tim Wise. The real problem in America is jewish privilege, and the jewish extremist agitation for White genocide.”
All together now: 1…2…3… Classy!
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Puppy Pic of the Day:
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CHEERS to "Western Tuesday." I have trouble with this moniker, because if you commandeer a blimp and travel east long enough you'll eventually end up in today's "Western Tuesday" primary states---Utah, Arizona and Idaho---so maybe it should be called "Waaaaay Eastern Tuesday" instead. At stake: 149 delegates, which---and this is true---can be used by the winning candidates toward either their total at the convention or any of the fine gifts in the Spiegel Catalog. The Daily Kos Elections team will dutifully stay up until 5am liveblogging until all the results are in. And in other news, I officially resign as a member of the Daily Kos Elections team.
JEERS to a real bad guy. But cheers for dealing him the hand he deserves:
A high-ranking Congolese politician was convicted unanimously Monday of war crimes and crimes against humanity in a landmark case at the Hague that put sexual violence in the spotlight.
The charges against Jean-Pierre Bemba — a former rebel leader and vice president in the Democratic Republic of Congo — related to rapes, murders and pillaging allegedly carried out by his fighters. Bemba was the highest-ranking official yet to be convicted by the court and showed no emotion as the unanimous verdict against him was read out Monday at the Hague.
"Not only is it the first time that the ICC has convicted someone for rape as a war crime but it is also the first ICC conviction based on command responsibility," Amnesty International said in a statement. "The judgment sends a clear message that impunity for sexual violence as a tool of war will not be tolerated."
One monster down, way too many more monsters to go.
CHEERS to fun with math. 2 hydrogen atoms + 1 oxygen atom + the United Nations + chips ‘n dip + balloons = World Water Day party! Yes, today is World Water Day, which actually isn't so much a party as it is an opportunity to remember that if we keep fucking up our water supply we're all going to end up shriveled and stupid with a sink full of dirty dishes and a stinky bathroom:
World Water Day dates back to the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development where an international observance for water was recommended.
Each year, UN-Water---the entity that coordinates the UN’s work on water and sanitation---sets a theme [2016's is Better Water, Better Jobs] for World Water Day corresponding to a current or future challenge.
Today, almost half of the world's workers---1.5 billion people---work in water related sectors and nearly all jobs depend on water and those that ensure its safe delivery. Yet the millions of people who work in water are often not recognized or protected by basic labour rights. The theme in 2016---water and jobs---is focusing on how enough quantity and quality of water can change workers' lives and livelihoods - and even transform societies and economies.
The U.N. and its affiliates will spend the day promoting responsible water management. They'll kick things off this morning by locking Michigan Governor Rick Snyder in a closet.
JEERS to troubled bridges over water. That, my friends, is the most brilliant segue of my life, and I assume I just won an award for it. But anyway… When Bernie talks about "our crumbling infrastructuh," this is what he's talking about. And we should be afraid:
One 25-lb. piece [of concrete from a bridge] wound up in the front passenger seat.
"Another six to eight inches, you might not have been talking to me today," Peterson said. According to new government data, that overpass is just one of 58,495 bridges in the U.S. that have been deemed structurally deficient.
The problem is "terrible, and it is getting worse by the year," admitted Anthony Foxx, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation. Foxx said the entire system is broken: States get federal money and spend it as they wish, with little federal oversight. "No one has argued more strenuously for fixing these issues than I have," Foxx said. "Congress has to pass a package with enough resources to handle the problem."
Congress, of course, is run by Republicans, and they're promising to take swift action to fund our infrastructure problem by encouraging churches and charities to hold bake sales. Vive le private sector.
JEERS to self-righteous knuckledragging. On this date in 1638, progressive preacher Anne Hutchinson was booted from the Massachusetts Bay Colony by the Puritan leadership after being accused of "Blasphemy!" and "Lewd conduct!" Today Senator Ted Cruz will unveil a statue to commemorate the event. In honor of the Puritans.
CHEERS to the headline of the day. USA Today gets the win: Supreme Court's Liberals Flex Their Muscles. Breyer's pecs, Ginsburg's biceps, Kagan's deltoids and Sotomayor's quads are all a' glistenin' in a sign that the conservative stranglehold isn’t so tight without Justice Argle-Bargle around. Looks like they've struck a blow against gerrymandering:
A Supreme Court case involving the use of race and politics in drawing election districts demonstrated Monday how Justice Antonin Scalia's death already has empowered the court's liberal wing.
A challenge to Virginia's new congressional districts that has all but doomed a Republican lawmaker's chance of re-election appeared equally doomed by the court's four liberal justices---and they don't need a fifth vote to get their way.
With only eight justices serving while President Obama and Senate Republicans battle over a nominee to replace Scalia, tie votes will leave lower court rulings alone. In this case, the lower court tossed out congressional district lines drawn by Republicans and drew its own.
The case most likely won’t be ruled on until June, but the oiled-up libs gave a pretty good indication of how it'll play out. Meanwhile there was an actual ruling yesterday in Florida, where a federal judge struck down another Republican gerrymandering scheme involving prison inmates being counted as voters even though they can't vote. But, hey…nice try.
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Ten years ago in C&J: March 22, 2006
JEERS to [fill in the blank] more years. President Bush says at a news conference that we're gonna be in Iraq right through 2008, and our withdrawal "...will be decided by future presidents and future governments of Iraq." Catch that? If the current Iraqi government orders us out, tough titty says the King. Bet that's just crackin' `em up on the streets of Baghdad this morning.
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And just one more…
CHEERS to the guy at the helm of the most famous bridge in space. Happy birthday to William "Kirk" Shatner, who turns 85 today but he still looks and acts like he's thirty years younger. If there's anyone who better combines acting chops and self-deprecation, I'm not aware of him. And here's today's hot tip straight from our Directing 101 workshop: if you're a director and you've got William Shatner in a studio laying down some tracks, be smart and don’t try to direct William Shatner. Contrary to the title of this vid, he doesn’t lose it at all, but I bet Mr. Director did when the session was over:
Moral of the story: don’t bring a phaser to a photon torpedo fight.
Have a nice Tuesday. If you missed getting hit by last night’s comet, there’s another one tonight, so wear protective headgear---they’re sneaky. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
When you compare Bill in Portland Maine to the killer in a slasher flick, you know you have a problem.
---Charles M. Blow, The New York Times
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