From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
Intermission
Holy Crosstabs, Batman! 2016 has smashed through the halfway mark, and that means it's C&J number-crunching time. Every few months we post results of some recent C&J polls to give you a snapshot of what Kossacks (and our small but persistent band of right-wing trolls) thought about this and that over the past 90-odd (or, if you prefer, 90 odd) days. The total number of votes each poll received is in parentheses:
• 85 percent of you are against the Senate bill forbidding companies from making cellphones with unbreakable encryption. (3,697)
• Regarding the nastiness of the Democratic primary campaign, 30 percent believe it was above-average nasty, while 39 percent believe it was below-average nasty. (5,160)
• In terms of the 36,000-member Verizon strike, 95 percent were supportive. (3,902)
• 98 percent support taking marijuana off the list of schedule 1---aka "most dangerous"---drugs. (5,741)
• In terms of Loretta Lynch's performance as Attorney General, 76 percent believe she is doing a good or excellent job. (3,311)
• As 61 percent of you predicted, Paul Ryan made no effort to formally condemn former Speaker and current inmate Dennis Hastert for paying hush money to cover up his sexual abuse of students he coached. (3,540)
• 97 percent support President Obama's new rule that extends overtime protections to millions of Americans. (3,270)
• In terms of how President Obama is faring, 78 percent have a "very positive" opinion of him, while 18 percent have a "somewhat positive" opinion of him. (5,409)
• About that $7 million in taxpayer money Republicans spent on the went-nowhere Benghazi investigation: two percent of voters thought it was money well spent. (4,041)
As always, we appreciate your participation in our C&J polls. To thank you, I’ve organized a massive party convention in Philadelphia for the next four days. I hope you enjoy it.
Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Monday, July 25, 2016
Note: Once again, we cede our note space to the great former Congressman John Dingell of Michigan:
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til the general election: 105
Days 'til Lollapalooza in Chicago: 3
Number of innocent civilians killed by drones through the end of 2015 as estimated by the Department of Defense: 64-116
Number killed as estimated by independent research groups: 250-358
Portion of American drivers who say their most frequently-used aggressive behavior against other drivers is tailgating, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety: 1-in-2
Percent by which northeastern U.S. drivers are more likely to give the finger, honk or yell at other drivers versus the rest of the country: 30%
Tim Kaine's age and the number of years he's been married to wife Anne, respectively: 58 / 32
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Puppy Pic of the Day:
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CHEERS to Night one. With the primaries over and the GOP shit show sealed in concrete and tossed over the side of a barge in the middle of the Cuyahoga River, it's time to focus, people—[clap clap]---I said focus! Tonight's lineup at the opening of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia---aka the City of Brotherly Cheesesteaks---includes:
Congresscritters Keith Ellison (MN), Raul Grijalva (AZ), Linda Sanchez (CA) and Joe Kennedy (MA)
National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen Garcia
SEIU President Mary Kay Henry
Governor Dan Malloy (CT)
Sen. Jeff Merkley (Oregon)
AFSCME President Lee Saunders
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka
DREAMer Astrid Salva
Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Sen. Bernie Sanders
Michelle Obama
You can see the complete list of speakers here. Fearless prediction: the First Lady won’t be plagiarizing anything of Melania Trump's. Or, y'know…anything of anybody's.
CHEERS to our next vice president (and tie-breaking Senate vote). "Hey, guys!!!" With that informal greeting, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine introduced himself to America as Hillary Clinton's bilingual co-pilot Saturday, and what followed was the emotional equivalent of unwrapping a Christmas present expecting socks and instead getting a G.I. Joe with kung fu grip. He's a heartland kinda guy wrapped in experience and competence but with elbows sharpened to a razor's edge for slashing the GOP and their Little Corporal (and the medal for neatness he earned in the muddy trenches of Wharton) to ribbons. As JoanMar wrote Saturday:
What a sweet surprise to hear him speak at the rally in Miami today!
The first word that came to mind as I watched him, was authentic. Tim Kaine looks and sounds authentic. He was comfortable on stage. He injected humor in his presentation and it seemed right. He was good. Really, really good.
His story is one of fighting for the least among us. He spoke flawless Spanish even while not giving the appearance of pandering. He told his story and his wife’s story in a manner devoid of the boastfulness or self-righteousness that we have been subjected to in the last months. Tim Kaine was a much-needed breath of fresh air.
One other thing about Kaine: he's very nice. So nice, in fact, that he'll point out all 437 of Mike Pence's factual errors during the VP debate out of a desire to be helpful. Bless his heart!
JEERS to emboldened enemies. Remember when Congressman Steve Scalise (R-LA) was angling to be the new House majority whip after Eric Cantor got his head handed to him in his Virginia primary race by a teabagger named Brat and everyone in the GOP "leadership" moved up an notch? We learned something interesting about Scalise:
Stephanie Grace, a Louisiana political reporter and columnist for the past 20 years, first with The Times-Picayune in New Orleans and now The Advocate of Baton Rouge, recalled her first meeting with Mr. Scalise. […] "He told me he was like David Duke without the baggage."
Today "David Duke without the baggage" is, indeed, the House majority whip. But guess who's now running for the U.S. Senate? Oh, go on…guess:
Former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke announced his US Senate campaign Friday in Louisiana, promising to defend the rights of European Americans.
[…] "We must stop the massive immigration and ethnic cleansing of the people whose forefathers created America," Duke said in the message.
The former hate group leader said he popularized the "America First" slogan that Republican nominee Donald Trump has now embraced. […]
Duke, who previously praised Trump's candidacy, said he's "overjoyed" by Trump's campaign.
That's right. If he makes it all the way to a win in November, Republicans on Capitol Hill will have their own David Duke with the baggage. If there's any justice in the world, they'll plop him between Cory Booker and Tim Scott.
JEERS to redundant redundancies that are repetitive. Did you have breakfast this morning? It's the most important meal of the day, you know (sorry to break it to ya, lunch, dinner and snacks #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 and #6). If you're noshing on some "belVita breakfast biscuits" for their "crunchy, energy-releasing goodness that'll make you smile and feel great all day long" (Nabisco's check cleared, so I was contractually-obligated to write that), you'll be glad to see in the lower right corner that, when it comes to nutritional transparency, they don’t fool around:
Yes. belVita biscuits are made with "Natural flavor and other natural flavor." I called and asked why flavor and other flavor are listed separately. I shoulda guessed: family squabble.
JEERS to racists in uniform. Flying from point A to point B is bad enough these days without this kind of shit happening:
According to the Independent, Mohamed Ahmed Radwan was greeted with an ominous message as he boarded a plane in Charlotte, North Carolina in December 2015: a flight attendant grabbed the plane’s public address system and announced “Mohamed Ahmed, Seat 25-A: I will be watching you.”
As Radwan stored his belongings, the flight attendant reportedly made the same announcement two more times, saying, “Mohamed Ahmed, that is a very long name, seat 25-A: I will be watching you,” and “25-A: you will be watched.” [...]
After months of deliberations, however, CAIR filed a complaint on Wednesday asking the Department of Transportation to investigate the case, arguing Radwan was removed for discriminatory reasons. “…It is apparent American Airlines removed Mr. Radwan from his flight not out of a legitimate and credible concern or need, but because of his identifiably Arabic and Muslim name,” the complaint read.
When Donald Trump heard about the rude racial-profiling flight attendant, he leaned over to his campaign manager and said, “Paulie, I think we’ve found our director of homeland security.”
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Ten years ago in C&J: July 25, 2006
CHEERS to dropping in. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki visits Washington, D.C. today to make a few demands:
The requests will include asking President Bush to allow American-led troops in Iraq to be tried under Iraqi law, and to call for a halt to Israeli attacks on Lebanon... more autonomy for Iraqi forces ... to maintain strong ties to Iran... financial aid... [and] amnesty for Iraqi insurgents.
And after that: Shopping! Shopping! Shopping!
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And just one more…
CHEERS to previews of coming attractions. Always worth noting when Oliver Stone parks his butt in his director's chair again, and his current subject is sure to get tongues wagging: Edward Snowden (played to what looks like perfection by Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Or as the new trailer calls him: SOLDIER! FUGITIVE! PATRIOT! SPY! HACKER! TRAITOR! HERO! TAPDANCER WITH SPARKLERS! Okay, maybe I made that last one up…
More on Snowden at the official site here. Opens September 16th. The NSA says it won’t be monitoring theaters to compile a master list of the whistleblower's sympathizers. I'll believe that right up until the moment I discover an eyeball staring up at me from my box of Milk Duds.
Have a tolerable Monday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
The first Wonder Billeh trailer is even better than we imagined!
---Gizmodo
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