A Fine Quartet Turns 83
A portrait in contrast to the ideology Republicans tried to force on our country three years ago tomorrow: it was on January 6, 1941 when Franklin Roosevelt delivered his famous "Four Freedoms" State of the Union speech. (You can read it and hear it here). While the oft-cited quartet—of speech, of religion, from want and from fear—is timeless, so too is this part of his address, which basically is both the Democratic playbook and the American dream. Here's what that dirty effing Hyde Park hippie bleated:
"The basic things expected by our people of their political and economic systems are simple. They are:
• Equality of opportunity for youth and for others.
• Jobs for those who can work.
Continued...
• Security for those who need it.
• The ending of special privilege for the few.
• The preservation of civil liberties for all.
• The enjoyment of the fruits of scientific progress in a wider and constantly rising standard of living.
These are the simple, the basic things that must never be lost sight of in the turmoil and unbelievable complexity of our modern world. The inner and abiding strength of our economic and political systems is dependent upon the degree to which they fulfill these expectations.
Many subjects connected with our social economy call for immediate improvement. As examples: We should bring more citizens under the coverage of old-age pensions and unemployment insurance. We should widen the opportunities for adequate medical care. We should plan a better system by which persons deserving or needing gainful employment may obtain it."
He was right—simple and basic things based on decency, compassion and common sense to ensure domestic tranquility and promote the public good. What a perfect contrast to the “ideals” of anarchy and dictatorship that’ll be celebrated tomorrow by Republicans on their new high holy day. I’ll take FDR’s vision, thanks. I just never quite got the hang of knuckle dragging.
And now, our feature presentation…
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Cheers and Jeers for Friday, January 5, 2024
Note: Today is National Bird Day. We hope you’ve been flipping it responsibly.
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til National Rubber Ducky Day: 9
Days 'til the Lafayette Oatmeal Festival in Colorado: 8
Amount that batty former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis, who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2015, has to pay in fees to the attorney's of one of the couples who sued her: $260,000
Amount Davis already owes from a previous ruling: $100,000
Dept. of Justice conviction rate against the 450 Jan. 6 MAGA insurrectionists who’ve been taken to court: 99.8%
Current number of electric car models for which $7,500 tax credits are available: 13
Age of Oklahoman Willis Gibson, who is believed to be the first human gamer to reach level 157 of Tetris since its release in 1984: 13
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Puppy Pic of the Day: East coast snow storm predicted for the weekend…
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CHEERS to previews of coming attractions. American conservatives, now personified by the MAGA movement, represent everything that our country is trying to kick to the curb: oppression against women and minorities, gaslighting us about our nation’s history, exploitation of children in labor and organized religion, deference to the rich, and one-party rule based on straight white Christian supremacy. Tomorrow happens to be their high holy day—January 6th, the date in 2021 when they stormed the Capitol with the intent of violently overturning the 2020 election results that didn’t swing their way. (Thankfully, neither did Mike Pence’s neck from their portable gallows.)
The landslide victor in that contest, President Joe Biden, marked the third anniversary of the Trump insurrection today with a speech near Valley Forge (the place where, as his predecessor will tell you, George Washington hatched his plan to take over British-controlled airports in the 17 colonies during the Spanish-American War). Yesterday his campaign posted a preview of how he intended to frame the day of infamy as he officially kicks off his reelection campaign:
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As always, the media was stunned at the eloquence and power of Joe’s words and how forcefully and patriotically they were delivered. Meanwhile, his 2020 and 2024 opponent was holed up at his bleach-fumed Florida perv palace, crashing weddings, posting dictator rants on his failed social media platform, and ogling his legal team's boob jobs as they scrambled to keep him out of jail. Golly, I hope I can decide which one to vote for by the time November rolls around.
CHEERS to the Republic's Big Moment. Speaking of presidenting, on Sunday’s date in 1789, the first U.S. Presidential election was held, but there was no popular vote. Instead, each state's appointees to the long-obsolete Electoral College got to vote twice. The top two vote-getters would become president and veep. They picked the stoic hero George Washington and the cranky-but-brilliant John Adams. Their first conversation:
"What do we do now?"
"I dunno, I thought you knew."
"Well, I thought you knew."
"Hey...wanna get drunk and barf in Jefferson's desk?"
"Does the Constitution say we can?"
"It doesn't say we can't."
"You pour."
The rest, as they say, is history.
CHEERS to getting mad as hell and not taking it anymore. Allie Phillips lives in Tennessee, which has an abortion ban that regularly threatens the health of women in the state. Allie had to travel out of state to get an abortion when doctors told her that complications meant her unborn daughter had no chance of survival. Fed up with her two-faced MAGA state representative, Allie is doing what we'll probably see a lot of in red states: she's running for office (Tennessee House District 75) and making reproductive rights her main focus:
“As a mother, it's my job to make sure that my daughter is safe and taken care of and advocating and voting isn't enough in these deep red states. I have to be in one of those seats, and even though if I can flip my seat blue, we are still going to be a super majority GOP. But that's just a little bit closer to getting us to have a voice at the table.
Miley's Law, in short, in simple terms, would be giving choice back to parents when diagnosed with fetal anomalies. It doesn't have to be fatal fetal anomalies, just fetal anomalies in general. It should be up to the parents what happens next, [and] how they decide moving forward, whether that be termination or continuing their pregnancy.”
May the best Allie win.
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BRIEF SANITY BREAK
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END BRIEF SANITY BREAK
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CHEERS to Democratic bulldogs. Former Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill—who coined the phrase "All politics is local"—died 30 years ago today at 81. His 1994 New York Times obituary is an excellent read on retail politics and how Team D can differentiate itself from Team R:
He was a large, joyous, generous-spirited man with a bulbous nose, yellowed white hair that flopped over his forehead and an ever-present cigar. […]
Mr. O'Neill was an old-style politician and proud of it, a House Speaker comfortable with power, who clung to his brand of liberalism long after it ceased to be fashionable, even among his fellow Democrats.
An early opponent of the Vietnam War, Mr. O'Neill took strong positions on many controversial issues. He was the Congressional leader who pushed hardest for the impeachment of President Richard M. Nixon and later, as Speaker, put his prestige on the line for Congressional reform. […] To Mr. O'Neill, who spoke of the Democratic Party with near-religious fervor, the party was the one of the cities, the working people, the poor, the needy, the unemployed, the sick and the disinherited. "And no way are we ever going to let them down," he would insist.
Pay your respects here. Bulbously.
CHEERS to home vegetation. Typical mid-winter weekend on the TV.
We’ll start with Chris Hayes and the MSNBC crew parsing the latest Friday news dumps. You can catch Penn & Teller: Fool Us! at 8 on the CW, or join me for live-tweeting the classic Star Trek episode I, Mudd (H&I Network) at hashtag #allstartrek. On PBS’s Firing Line at 8:30, journalist Tim Alberta talks about the unholy alliance between conservative Christians and their idol Donald Trump who makes a bigger mockery of them than they already are.
The new movies and streamers are all reviewed here at Rotten Tomatoes. The NBA schedule is here, the NFL schedule is here, the NHL schedule is here and the eagerly-awaited Naked Ping Pong World Finals schedule is here. The only other weekend TV event is the Golden Globe Awards Sunday night on CBS. More on that below.
Now here's your Sunday morning lineup:
Meet the Press: Biden 2024 deputy chairman Quentin Fulks; Israeli President Isaac Herzog; Rep. Elise Stefanik (MAGA Cult-NY).
This Week: House Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi (D-CA); Rep. Tony Gonzales (MAGA Cult-TX).
Face the Nation: Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD); Liz Cheney; porn-obsessed House Speaker and insurrection supporter Mike Johnson (MAGA Cult-LA); Governor Pudding Fingers (MAGA Cult-FL); former Capitol police officer now running for a seat in Congress Harry Dunn.
CNN's State of the Union: Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC); New stock boy at the Muncie, Indiana Ace Hardware Mike Pence.
Fox GOP Talking Points Sunday: Texas shitbag governor Greg Abbott (MAGA Cult); Senator Jim Lankford (MAGA Cult-OK); Mayor Mike Johnston (D- Denver).
Happy viewing!
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Ten years ago in C&J: January 5, 2014
CHEERS to sending in the cavalry. First a Russian ship got stuck in the Antarctic ice. Then a Chinese ship got stuck in the Antarctic ice trying to rescue the Russian ship. Now an American ship is going into the Antarctic ice to rescue the Russian and Chinese ships. And if that doesn't work, the penguins will never let us humans hear the end of it.
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And just one more…
CHEERS to the Night Of A Hundred Drunken Celebrities. The 81st Golden Globes will be handed out Sunday night (8pm, CBS). They tend to be a more raucous and goofy affair than the Oscars—not to mention less face-slappy—mainly because the open bar starts ladling out the drinks at 8am. And even if you can't stand awards shows, it might be worth peeking at for stand-up comedian Jo Koy's opener as host. You can peruse the nominations here. As usual, I haven’t seen many of the movies yet, but that's never stopped me from making dangerously uninformed predictions before. (Like, Tulsi Gabbard will definitely be the Democratic nominee in 2020 and destroy Kanye West in an 80-20 landslide.) So here goes:
Picture (drama): Oppenheimer
Picture (musical or comedy): Barbie
Director: Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer
Actress (drama): Lily Gladstone for Killers of the Flower Moon
Actress (comedy): Margot Robbie for Barbie
Actor (drama): Bradley Cooper for Maestro
Actor (comedy): Paul Giamatti for The Holdovers
Supporting Actor: Charles Melton for May December
Supporting Actress: Da’Vine Joy Randolph for The Holdovers
TV Series (Drama): Succession
TV Series (Comedy): Ted Lasso
The Golden Globes are put on by the Foreign Press Association. Or as the red-hatted MAGA cultists call it: one more damn thing we need to build a wall around.
Have a great weekend. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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