From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE...
Howdy, Neighbor
Couple weeks ago my partner Michael was walkin' the dog and ran into a husband and wife who were also walkin' their critter, and he struck up a conversation that somehow eventually wound up on the subject of Iraq and Afghanistan.
The husband was puzzled when Michael told him about the Netroots for the Troops campaign---the 300 care packages that we'll be boxing up and sending from Netroots Nation in Pittsburgh to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan---because he thought our soldiers had everything they needed. It came as a surprise to him that things like work gloves, LED flashlights, and gel insoles for boots weren't available 24/7 on an as-needed basis. Well, they're not. And with a huge chunk of our military still over there, they need that stuff as much as ever, along with anti-boredom goodies like phone cards, CDs and DVDs.
The NFTT goal is to raise $50k in cash and corporate in-kind donations. A few weeks ago we were halfway there. Today we're nearly 80 percent of the way there. The vast, vast, vast majority of donations have been small, proving once again that when the netroots band together, y'all kick butt. And now we're in the home stretch.
On July 8th I set a modest $1,000 "mini goal" in C&J, and you knocked it outta the park without batting an eye---I think it took about an hour. Since it's getting to be crunch time, let's do $2k today---a mere 100 donations of $20 each. If we hit it, I'll do two things: 1) Leave you alone until next year, and 2) Break into a Matt dance at Netroots Nation or anywhere else on demand (yes, even during church services and colonoscopies).
Michael and I will start with $20 apiece, and add $20 on behalf of our neighbors who think the NFTT idea is a pretty cool way to support the troops, especially since so many people seem to have forgotten that they're over there. Here's the Netroots for the Troops donation link. Sorry, but due to budget cuts it no longer tastes like tangerine if you try to lick it.
Please note that the thank-you screen won't reflect a donation to NFTT, but rather Netroots Nation. But we promise your donation WILL go into a special NFTT account. For peace of mind, you can write "Netroots for the Troops" in the comment box when you submit your contribution.
Donations are tax deductible, thanks to Netroots Nation and its partner, Netroots Arts and Education Initiative, a CA 501(c)3 corporation. NAEI partners with Netroots Nation to support its programming.
Thank you for supporting this effort. The men and women in uniform who receive these packages are gonna be thrilled. I'm guessing that's a feeling they don't get to experience very often over there.
Cheers and Jeers starts in There's Moreville... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Note: If Lou Dobbs had run for president, none of this birther stuff would be an issue!
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til Obama, Gates and Crowley meet in the White House: 1
Days `til the Tulsa Elks Lodge Wine Festival with entertainment by Luigi Balletto: 3
Percent chance I ever thought I'd see "Tulsa Elks Lodge" and "Wine Festival" together: 2%
Percent, respectively, of Germans who, in 2007, had confidence that Bush would "do the right thing in world affairs," and the percent who say the same thing today about Obama: 14%, 93%
Confidence in Bush and Obama among Brazilians: 17%, 76%
(Source: Pew Research survey)
High school dropout rate in Maine: 20%
(Source: Maine Dept. of Education)
Bill in Portland Maine Charm School dropout rate: 100%
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Mid-week Rapture Index: 166 (including 4 Liberalisms and 1 minor traffic delay). Soul Protection Factor 8 lotion is recommended if you’ll be walking amongst the heathen today.
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Puppy Pic of the Day: So long and thanks for all the chalupas.
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CHEERS and JEERS to the Rumble in the Pittsburgh Jungle!!! I just don’t know how to process this. I'm dying to meet and greet Rep. Joe Sestak at Netroots Nation. But I'm a little nauseous over the fact that he comes as a package deal with a total weasel whom we've derided (with good reason!) ever since the Great Orange Satan came online:
On Friday, August 14, Sen. Arlen Specter and Rep. Joe Sestak will join us in Pittsburgh to take questions directly from you. The Netroots Nation Pennsylvania Leadership Forum, scheduled for Friday morning at 11 a.m., will give you and your fellow attendees an opportunity to engage both leaders in substantive discussion about issues of the day.
Rep. Sestak and Sen. Specter will each participate in an interactive session moderated by Pennsylvania blogger Susie Madrak and The Nation's Ari Melber. Much like our Presidential Leadership Forum back in 2007 and our Ask [Speaker Pelosi] session last July, each participant will be asked questions solicited online in advance, as well as from the audience.
Pelosi brought Al Gore with her to try and distract us from her infuriatingly evasive and often nonsensical answers. I suspect Specter's gonna need a Plan B, too. (Our guess: he's promised one of his granddaughters Jonas Brothers tickets if she pulls the fire alarm.) No matter what, the Sestak-Specter tussle will be a sight to see---like watching a Mack truck run over a grape. Click here to register...before the price goes up to one mmmmmmillion dollars.
P.S. Kossack jdn74 has some good Pittsburgh-centric diaries here. Next: do a sex one!
CHEERS to new digs. If you've been wondering what happened to Gerald Weinand's weighty-yet-fizzy blog Turn Maine Blue, you'll be glad to know it's still around---same management, new name: Welcome to Dirigo Blue. For the uninitiated, Dirigo is Maine's official motto/slogan/thingy. It's the Latin word for "I shoot at dirigibles." That's why we always recommend visitors come here via the turnpike.
JEERS to empty seats. Half of the Republican members on the Senate Judiciary Committee skipped one of the most momentous days in its history yesterday, choosing instead to play golf (I assume) while voting in absentia against Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Nevertheless, it wasn't even close, with 13 Yes votes (including Republican ass-coverer Lindsay Graham) and 6 nays. That gives a green light for the Senate to vote on her confirmation next week, and for the other 8 justices to sew the ceremonial whoopie cushion into Souter's old chair. (We hear Scalia's stitching has won him several ribbons at county fairs...)
CHEERS to the birthday girl. Former...repeat, former North Carolina Senator Elizabeth Dole gets 73 candles on her cake today. C&J has a rule that we never jeer someone on their birthday (unless they don’t have a birth certificate, in which case we try and force a resolution of condemnation through the House Petty Grievances Committee). But there's nothing that says we can't revisit their Waterloo---in this case the famous 2008 "Promise" TV ad, which ends with the immortal words, "There is no God!!!" Actually, there probably is, Liddy. Exhibit A: you lost.
JEERS to heart-wrenching breakups. Martin and Lewis. The Beatles. Britney and Kevin. Michele Bachmann and sanity. And, as of tomorrow, the "Coalition of the Willing" in Iraq will be a thing of the past. I believe I speak for everyone in America with a brain when I say: "It's been unreal. Let's not do this again soon."
P.S. Minesweeping monkeys from Morocco: I think I'll...[sniff]...miss you most of all. Promise me that 50 of you will all get into a room with 50 typewriters and drop me a note every now and then. Ah...luv...yew.
CHEERS to thinking small. There's little debate that one of Obama's best picks so far is NOAA chief Jane Lubchenco. Speaking in Boston, she said that one of her goals is to reassure smaller fishing companies and families that "the federal government has no interest in consolidating the nation's fishing industry into the hands of a few large companies." She added: "Unless Goldman Sachs decides to buy the ocean."
CHEERS to the first ringy dingy. On July 29, 1914, transcontinental telephone service began when someone in New York called someone in San Francisco and promptly sold a couple hundred bucks worth of term life insurance, a Thighmaster and a dozen Slap Chops. Smooth operator.
JEERS to today's health-care reform threat level. For those of you keeping track, here's today's update from the Department of Democratic Leaders Hellbent on Shooting Their Party in the Foot:
Level Green---Healthy
Level Blue---Mild cold
Level Yellow---Herpes contracted at seedy bar
Level Orange---Flesh-eating virus
Level Red---Max Baucus is still head of the Senate Finance Committee
Have a nice day.
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Five years ago in C&J: July 29, 2004---The Democratic Convention
CHEERS to Wednesday's speeches. Sharpton goes off-script to deliver barn-burner at convention, while Edwards promises that Hope Is On The Way. If you're taking orders, sir, my hope comes with a large Bacardi label on it.
CHEERS to good omens. Boston Globe's Tom Oliphant reminds us (via Air America's The Al Franken Show) that Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 was viewed as a wealthy, distant, aloof northeasterner who lacked a message and worried the hell out of his own party. Sound familiar?
CHEERS to Nancy Reagan. She just says "No" to appearance the Republican Convention next month. Looks like the party of Reagan is no longer the party of Reagan.
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And just one more...
CHEERS to the hockeymom-turned-hepcat. I knew it! While watching Sarah Palin's farewell speech Sunday, I got the strangest sensation. I heard bongos...I smelled weed...I became overwhelmed with a desire to grow a goatee and contact the spirit of Allen Ginsberg. And now, thanks to Conan O'Brien and his poet laureate---who else?---William Shatner, it all makes sense: Palin retired so she could lead the 21st century beatnik revival. I hope she finds something classy to rhyme with "There once was a man from Nantucket..."
Oh, and another thing: Pirates!!! Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
Scientists visit the "The Hellhole of Creation" (In Cheers and Jeers, not California) to uncover clues that could reveal how the Earth formed billions of years ago.
---Huffington Post
7/28/09
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