From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE...
What? Iraq? We're still in Iraq? Really???
Not that anyone here needs their memory refreshed, but since the traditional media's coverage has fallen off the map: we have about 139,000 soldiers in Iraq and 52,000 in Afghanistan, keeping their collective finger in the Freedom Dike. And despite promises to bring 'em home, it's still too early to be holdin' our breath.
And so our men and women in uniform continue to perform their six year-plus missions: patrolling streets and neighborhoods. Building and repairing stuff. Teaching the militaries who are supposed to be relieving them which end of the gun is the business end. Serving as ambassadors and referees. Guarding things and searching things. Ducking. Sweating. Sitting around. Eating shitty food. Being bored out of their frigging minds. And wondering when they'll get new gloves and socks and maybe a handful of fresh CDs.
Little things make a big difference over there.
As soon as I publish C&J today, I'm giving a hundred bucks to Netroots for the Troops (NFTT) whose goal is as simple as it is appreciated by its beneficiaries:
To put together and ship 300 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 (old TV series are popular), 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 Pittsburgh.
Last year we assembled 130 care packages, and it's estimated that a thousand people---recipients, donors, those who packed boxes in Austin and the friends and family who submitted names of the recipients---were positively affected by what we collectively did. And given that many of the items we send get passed around on-base, that number is certainly much higher. And that's way cool.
Financially, the goal is to raise $50,000. A lofty goal, yes, but we can do it---we're the netroots, and grassroots campaigns are in our DNA. (Plus, this year your donation is tax deductible, thanks to Netroots Nation and their partner, Netroots Arts and Education Initiative, a CA 501(c)3 corporation. NAEI partners with Netroots Nation to support its programming.) You can DONATE HERE AT THIS AMAZINGLY CONSPICUOUS LINK.
(Please note that the thank-you screen won't reflect a donation to NFTT, but rather Netroots Nation. Rest assured your donation WILL be forwarded to NFTT. For peace of mind, you can note that the donation is intended for "Netroots for the Troops" in the comment section when you submit your contribution.)
Oh, by the way, I checked the forecast highs for Baghdad the rest of the week: 106°, 109°, 108°, 103°, 101°. As if IEDs, electrified shower stalls and scorpions weren't bad enough.
Netroots For The Troops: it won’t bring them home, but it will bring a little home to them.
P.S. Last year we accepted in-kind donations from individuals as well as companies. But because the rules at the Pittsburgh convention center are different from those in Austin, this year we can only accept corporate in-kind donations. If you know of a corporate contact, let Donnamarie know. Many thanks.
Cheers and Jeers starts in There's Moreville... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Note: "Dreidl Dreidl Dreidl, I made you out of clay! Dreidl Dreidl Dreidl, with Dreidl I shall play!" What...too early?
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til presidential elections in Iran: 10
Days `til Summerfest in Milwaukee: 23
Average cost of a family insurance plan in 2000: $5,791
Average cost in 2008: $12,680
(Source: Kaiser Family Foundation via USA Today)
Number of accounting jobs created monthly over the last six months: 3,000
Estimated percent increase in jobs for accountants and auditors between now and 2016: 18%
(Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics via The Week)
Number of presidents who had both dogs and cats in the White House: 9
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Tuesday Words of Wisdom from the Right-wing Blogosphere:
Thank you so very much, Senator Coburn, for making the sacrifice of running again in 2010. It was truly depressing to think of losing your voice and conscience in the Senate and on the national scene. Now, more than ever before, we the people need men like you to speak up for us.
How I wish that there were at least 59 more just like you on our side. If that were the case, we’d win elections in landslides and be able to return our country to something much closer to what the Founders intended. God bless and keep you, sir, and thanks for announcing this this morning.
---Commenter "janis" at RedState
All together now: One...two...three... HaHaHaHaHa!!!
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Puppy Pic of the Day: Keeping up with the Joneses
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CHEERS to tea and torpor. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor will sit down and schmooze the Senate's top wankers today. Harry Reid in the morning and Mitch McConnell in the afternoon. And this evening: a long, hot shower.
JEERS to hold-your-breath season. Oh, what fun---five thrill-a-minute months of waiting to see if the Hurricane season (which started yesterday without incident) will be wild and wooly, or mild and...um...mooly? But there's reason to cheer: check out this amazing sight---the president actually getting all preemptive up in FEMA's grill. Haven’t seen that in a few years. And best of all---are you sitting down?---I get my own hurricane this year! Yay!!! I can't decide if I'm gonna make it rain Skittles or men.
CHEERS to #17 (via ajewella). Yup...yesterday Nevada became the 17th state to officially grant rights to same-sex couples. And the legislature jumped through some extra hoops to do it, telling their Republican governor to stuff it:
The Assembly voted 28-14 to override Gov. Jim Gibbons' veto of a domestic partner bill, said Kathy Alden of the chief clerk's office. With the vote, Nevada will extend most of the rights given to married couples to couples in domestic partnerships, including those of the same sex. The bill will take effect on October 1. The Nevada Senate overrode the the governor's veto 14-7 on Saturday.
Interesting nugget in the New York Times article: apparently Big Casino pushed for the bill because they were scared of a backlash by gay tourists and their giant wads of Gay Money. Thus adding some weight to the Great American Golden Rule: whoever has the gold makes the rules.
P.S. Aw, how sweet. President Obama issued a Gay Pride Month proclamation in which he outlined his list of promises for leading the way on equality for GLBT Americans. After he signed it he decisively and forcefully got back to not leading the way on equality for GLBT Americans. Golly, Mr. President, I hope you're not mad at us for contributing too much money and too many volunteers to get you elected. If that's the case, we apologize for the inconvenience.
JEERS to addictive mergers. Twenty four years ago today, The R.J. Reynolds Company (motto: "If it's something you can inhale, we'll sell it at retail") proposed a major merger with Nabisco that would create a $4.9 billion conglomerate of food and tobacco products. Which explains why 23 years and nine months ago I had to resort to the nicotine patch to wean myself off a sudden addiction to Fig Newtons.
CHEERS to clearing one more hurdle. It may be progress at the speed of tortoise, but at least it's progress. Yesterday the Minnesota Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Coleman v. Franken and the Rest of Civilization. There were some heated exchanges, and WineRev's verdict this morning is: Coleman is toast. And now that that little flurry of activity is out of the way, you know the drill by now: hurry up and wait.
CHEERS to vital signs. Senators Kennedy and Baucus are pledging to get their collective act together and jointly thread the health care reform needle this summer:
Mr. Kennedy is chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, where he and several other liberals favor a robust public program. Mr. Baucus, the chairman of the Finance Committee, is trying to write a bill that could win support from all Democrats on the panel and from its senior Republican, Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, who opposes the creation of a public insurance option. ...
The proposal for a new public plan stirs political passions, in part because it symbolizes differences between Democrats and Republicans over the proper role of government in providing, regulating and subsidizing health care.
Yeah. Democrats (the real ones, anyway) want to change the system to give private insurance companies a run for their money. Republicans want to keep the system the way it is so the insurance companies will give them money for their re-election runs. We're so lucky to have such exciting choices.
P.S. This has been another edition of What Slinkerwink Said.
CHEERS to the new kid on the set. Conan O'Brien became the fifth host of The Tonight Show for the first time last night:
"I think I’ve timed this move perfectly," he said in his opening monologue. "I’m on a last-place network, I moved to a state that’s bankrupt and ‘The Tonight Show’ is sponsored by General Motors."
Cute. But I'm withholding my verdict until he takes the marmoset test. Of course, with that hair he might have one living up there already.
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Five years ago in C&J: June 2, 2004
CHEERS to a woman's right to choose. Federal judge rules that banning late-term abortions---which doctors perform to protect the mother's health---are unconstitutional. Bush will cry "Activist Judge!" The rest of us will cry "Common Sense!"
JEERS to bad aim. Football star-turned-soldier Pat Tillman was killed by 'friendly fire.' "We have met the enemy and they is us." [6/2/09 Update: That wasn't even the worst of it. Disgusting.]
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And just one more...
JEERS to Tweety the Twit. Chris Matthews strikes again! Last night, after discussing the George Tiller murder with a Slate correspondent, the Hardball host ended the interview like this:
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"Will Saleton...one of the good guys in the blogosphere! Actually, you're better than the blogosphere. You're online."
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Yep. That's where all the fame and glory is, kids. Not in the blogosphere, but online. I bet George Soros lives online. In a great big gingerbread mansion.
Oh, and you can join the Netroots for the Troops FaceBook Group here. It's where all the cool people hang out, you know. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
MR. MEACHAM: People magazine has selected you as one of "Bill in Portland Maine's Beauties." How does that feel?
SECRETARY GEITHNER: It doesn’t---[laughing]---it doesn’t feel particularly good, frankly.
----Newsweek.
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