From my teens through my adulthood, President Jimmy Carter was a constant presence and role model in my life. I’ve spilled a lot of ink here in C&J related to his presidency (he more than deserved a second term) and his philanthropy-on-steroids post-presidency. But today, as he receives his state funeral in D.C. and then burial in Plains, I have just five words here above the fold:
Farewell, Jimmy. And thank you.
Cheers and Jeers for Thursday, January 9, 2025
Note: Due to a patriotic act of Congress, from now on all citizens of the world must refer to the C&J kiddie pool as “The Gulf of Billeh” under penalty of law. This is truly a great day for the United States of Billeh. Everybody celebrate by giving me a million dollars. Or else. —Billeh
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By the Numbers:
8 days!!!
Days 'til MLK Jr. Day: 11
Days 'til the Montana Winter Fair in Lewistown: 8
Estimated amount in unpaid medical bills that would be collectively erased from the credit reports of roughly 15 million Americans under a new Biden administration rule finalized this week: $49 billion
Average amount by which the rule would raise people's credit scores: 20 points
National median monthly rent in December, down $8 from November: $1,373
Age of Peter Yarrow, of Peter, Paul and Mary, when he died this week: 86
Year the group's first album Peter, Paul and Mary hit #1 on the Billboard chart: 1962
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Your Thursday Molly Ivins Moment:
Oh boy! Starting the year off briskly, lending it such tone already, such cachet, such je ne sais quoi—those Republicans are so special, aren't they? Their first move, first rat out of the trap, top priority: lower ethics standards. Yessiree, this 2005 is going to be quite a year.
Let's put that to a vote. Many problems before us—Iraq, a Social Security "crisis," a real health care crisis, world terrorism, our international reputation possibly at its lowest ever ... who is in favor of lowering ethics standards first? Who thinks ethics standards in Washington are too high? […]
Now, I'm not going to conclude that Fascism Is Upon Us just because we have an administration that not only can't find the Constitution but apparently doesn't know there is one. Too early in the year for that. Long way to go. Got to save your indignation. But it is unpleasantly reminiscent of Watergate, isn't it? That's what we're looking at here, folks—not just constitutional deafness, but moral turp as well. All we need is one bag job and an alert night security man.
—January 2005
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Puppy Pic of the Day: In Lopburi, Thailand…Saved!!!
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CHEERS to Obamacare: Year 12. Despite all attempts by Republicans to kill President Obama's Affordable Care Act, the darn thing just keeps on keepin' on. Just as we predicted a dozen years ago, it joins Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security among the programs over which even the MAGA cult warns the bureaucrats to "keep your government hands off of." And this year’s enrollment period was—how should we put this?—a successful operation:
A record nearly 24 million Americans enrolled in the Affordable Care Act during the final enrollment period of the Biden administration, the White House announced Wednesday, a 9% jump from the prior year, with a week left for more to enroll.
Still a BFD.
The 2025 enrollment figure is buoyed by 3.2 million new consumers compared to last year, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services said, with 20.4 million consumers insured in 2024 selecting a plan for the new year or automatically re-enrolled. About 900,000 others did not re-enroll between 2024 and 2025, according to the figures.
"That means that enrollment has nearly doubled since I took office," President Joe Biden said in a statement. "That's no coincidence. When I took office, I made a promise to the American people that I would bring down the cost of health care and prescription drugs, make signing up for coverage easier, and strengthen the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, and Medicaid."
The good news above is all the reason we need to haul these 2009 words from former Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) out of storage and rub them in his face one more time:
"This health care issue Is D-Day for freedom in America. If we’re able to stop Obama on this it will be his Waterloo. It will break him."
Silly goose. Looks like someone forgot that our president's full name is Barack Hussein Eisenhower Wellington Obama.
CHEERS to defanging a despot dweeb. Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin, representing the weird MAGA party, was this close to seizing control of the commonwealth’s legislature via a pair of special elections that happened Tuesday. He could taste the sweet, sweet drops of tyranny on his tongue...right up until the moment Democrats replaced them with nuggets of sweet, sweet loser poop:
Democrats will keep control of both chambers of the Virginia Legislature, after the party won two decisive special election victories Tuesday night. [...]
Virginia’s legislature remains in Union hands.
In the House of delegates, Democrat JJ Singh defeated Republican Ram Venkatachalam to ensure Democrats would maintain their 51-49 majority. Had Singh lost, Democrats would have been forced into a power-sharing agreement with Republicans.
And in the state Senate, former delegate Kannan Srinivasan beat Republican Tumay Harding to maintain Democrats' 21-19 majority.
So now Governor Youngkin is just a guy waiting ‘til his time’s up...day by excruciating day. “Welcome to my world,” said the Maytag repairman.
CHEERS to world peace...or some approximation thereof. On January 9, 1951, the United Nations headquarters officially opened in New York City. From its preamble:
WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED
True fact: the land for the U.N., which is international territory, was purchased by John D. Rockefeller, and came with its own troupe of Rockettes.
• to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and
• to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and
• to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and
• to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.
The U.N. drives the conservative paranoids crazy because they think the men and women in the blue helmets are going to impose martial law and take control of our cities and towns (and brains!!!) without any regard for the principles of democracy. GOP, thy name is Projection.
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BRIEF SANITY BREAK
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END BRIEF SANITY BREAK
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CHEERS to decent piano playing skills. That's one of the few positive things I can say about Richard Nixon, who was born on this date in 1913. Said the late, great Andy Rooney: "I forget how Richard Nixon got elected. It makes you wonder about our democratic system of government. I mean, how could we have done that?" And in their great book Rating the Presidents, Bill Ridings, Jr. and Stuart McIver unwittingly fire back at the Trump cult who once complained that President Obama put his feet up on his desk:
Since he liked to sit with his feet on the desk, his heels left scars.
Best thing he ever wrote.
Once, while he was abroad, someone had the mahogany surface refinished. Nixon was not pleased: "Dammit, I didn't order that. I want to leave my mark on this place just like the other presidents."
Richard Milhous Nixon left his mark, but it was more than scuff marks on a desktop. The mark he left behind was a scar on a nation he betrayed. In the cause of peace he achieved an enviable record in foreign affairs, proving himself a highly-effective president. Then he threw it all away.
For his 112th birthday, I got him the usual gift certificate to his favorite clothing store: The 18½ Minute GAP.
JEERS to economic anxiety: snacktime edition. Very Bad Man, who promised to make America great again (again), takes the joke of office in 11 days. But we don’t have to wait that long to see that his promises ain't worth a glob of his orange face paint:
The Girl Scouts of the USA announced that the “S’mores” and “Toast-Yay!” cookies will be discontinued after this year, joining the “Raspberry Rally” flavor in retirement. […] Sadly, not even Girl Scout cookies are immune from inflation: The price of a box could cost $7—an increase of $1 from the last two years.
And this just in: for having the audacity to make his incoming pet administration look bad, Elon Musk will purchase the Girl Scouts of the USA for $44 billion and reduce the flavors to one option: "Thin X's."
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Ten years ago in C&J: January 9, 2015
CHEERS to nuclear ambitions of the anti-nuclear kind. Shhh…be vewy vewy quiet. America is hunting for a nuclear deal with Iran. It sounds vewy promising:
In another sign of progress, [Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister I Forget Go Google It] told The Associated Press that negotiators at the December round of nuclear talks drew up for the first time a catalog outlining areas of potential accord and differing approaches to remaining disputes.
The diplomats said differences still dominate ahead of the next round of Iran-six power talks on Jan. 15 in Geneva. But they suggested that even agreement to create a to-do list would have been difficult previously because of wide gaps between the sides. … Negotiators hope to reach a rough deal by March and a final agreement by June 30.
Among the provisions being discussed: moving excess uranium out of the country, greater access for inspections, and requiring Iran to turn half of their centrifuges into Tilt-a-Whirls.
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And just one more…
JEERS to today's edition of All I Ever Wanted Was A Cup Holder. Pretty soon we're gonna need a Ph.D. just to figure out how to make a trip to the grocery store. Via ABC News:
Automakers pulled out all the stops to showcase their latest advances for in-vehicle experiences at CES, the Consumer Technology Association’s annual trade show of all things tech, in Las Vegas this week. Hyundai Mobis unveiled a full-windshield holographic technology, while BMW spotlighted its new “iDrive” panoramic display. And Honda and Sony Honda Mobility showed what consumers can expect with their upcoming electric vehicles.
Where do I put my ‘80s cassettes?
While there's ample excitement around the latest bells and whistles announced from car companies like those on display at CES this week, questions also emerged about how many new features are too many features.
“It’s definitely easy to get a little bit overwhelmed by the amount of technology in cars ... especially when you have cars that have three, four, five (or) six different touchscreens that offer different interfaces,” said Tim Stevens, an automotive analyst and freelance journalist who attended CES this week.
This has been today's edition of AlI Ever Wanted Was A Cup Holder.
Have a nice Thursday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial
"Bill in Portland Maine has nothing to prove; he has already staked his claim as a blogger, kiddie pool lifeguard, and squirrel feeder."
—Leonard Maltin
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