From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
Energize An Ally Tuesday
It was a tough scene to watch last week when Capitol Police started dragging out dozens of physically disabled protesters who had gathered at Mitch McConnell's office door to protest the monstrous money grab for the wealthy he was trying to disguise as a health care bill. Leading the protest were members of ADAPT (Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transit, so named for their original issue in the 70s and 80s: making city buses wheelchair-accessible), and it was both heartbreaking and inspiring to watch them, in spite of their vulnerabilities, fight the evil power right there at the source, and for good reason:
“The American Health Care Act caps and significantly cuts Medicaid which will greatly reduce access to medical care and home and community based services for elderly and disabled Americans who will either die or be forced into institutions,” said Bruce Darling, an ADAPT organizer taking part in the protest.
“Not only will AHCA take away our freedom,” said Dawn Russell, an ADAPT organizer from Colorado. “That lost freedom will also cost Americans much more money. The nursing facilities that people will be forced into are much more expensive than community-based services that AHCA would cut.”
At the heart of the GOP heartlessness---aka "Trumpcare"---are drastic cuts to Medicaid. As Laura Clawson shared last week, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is stark in its assessment if this tax cut for the rich passes this week (or any week):
People with disabilities account for more than 1 in 5 Medicaid beneficiaries under age 65. Nationwide, nearly 13 million non-elderly Americans with disabilities receive health coverage through Medicaid, including more than 2 million children. Nearly half of non-elderly people with disabilities have their health care covered through Medicaid.
Medicaid is crucial for people with disabilities. It provides comprehensive health benefits and serves as the primary payer for essential long-term services and supports that help people with disabilities stay independent in their homes.
Can't put it any plainer than that. For the love of all that is godly and just, pick up your phone today and call your senators---both of them, even if they're asshole Republicans---and ask how they can justify upending and endangering people's lives like this. Then, if you're so inclined, reach into your wallet and make a donation to ADAPT here. (C&J, as with all of our Energize an Ally organizations, is tossing in $25.) For showing, once again, great courage and determination as they fight for so many rights we non-disabled take for granted, they deserve it.
Like ADAPT on Facebook here and follow them on Twitter here.
Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Note: Great news! This morning's lottery was another rousing success for the community. Our thanks to the late Tessie Hutchison and the townsfolk for upholding our motto: "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon." (And don’t skimp on the butter, ha ha ha.)
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til Festivus: 179
Days 'til the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, Michigan: 4
Nationwide increase in personal income between 2014-2015, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (versus Maine's 2.7%): 4.1%
Percent chance that, under Barack Obama's 8-year stewardship of the economy, the U.S. jobs market has settled into "a sweet spot of steadily-solid growth," according to the AP: 100%
Weight of the 10-story-tall sequoia tree sent to Boise, Idaho as a seedling by John Muir in 1912: 800,000 pounds
Distance the tree was moved to make room for a hospital expansion: 2 blocks
Gallons of maple syrup produced by 5.4 million taps in Vermont this year, making it the #1 producer in the U.S.: 2 million
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NEW Tuesday Feature! "Georgia On My Mind"
Brought to you by the 2017 Netroots Nation Convention in Atlanta August 10-13, which is being held at the Hyatt Regency smack-dab in the middle of downtown. As we always do, we checked to see if it was an environmentally-conscious facility:
> The hotel has been named a GreenLeader-Platinum Level property by TripAdvisor, the highest green ranking from the leading hotel review website. TripAdvisor recognized Hyatt Regency Atlanta for its recycling programs, efficient ventilation systems, Energy Star appliances and low chemical gardening.
> Hyatt Regency Atlanta in 2012 completed an historic $65 million transformation, including significant improvements to its electrical, HVAC and other systems to make them more efficient and eco-friendly.
> Since 2000, Hyatt Regency Atlanta has reduced water consumption on property by 35 percent, saving 36 million gallons in 2013 alone. … Over the last 13 years, Hyatt Regency Atlanta has reduced energy consumption by 34 percent, saving 55 million BTUs in 2013 and reducing CO2 emissions by 19 percent since 2006. … Ranked 7th for energy consumption per square foot among U.S. hotels in Energy Star’s National Buildings Challenge (October 2013).
> “Plans to further improve the sustainability of the hotel include storing rainwater for cooling towers and irrigation and pursuing higher Energy Star ratings and LEED-Existing Building, Operations and Maintenance certification,” said Randy Childers, Senior Director of Engineering and a LEED Green Associate. “We look forward to continuing to set the bar for hotel sustainability practices.”
We'll take that as a yes.
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Puppy Pic of the Day: And the world's newest ugliest dog is…
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CHEERS to silver linings. We may have lost four out of five recent special elections, but the eggheads at FiveThirtyEight had an online chat recently, and they say a chill pill is in order for the Henny Pennys among us. Here are some comments and an amazing graphic I plucked out:
Nate Silver: Basically it’s like if an obscure college football team goes and plays against Ohio State at Ohio Stadium, and loses 30-27 when they were big underdogs going in. It’s disappointing for them, but, at the same time, an indication that the team has bright things in its future and that Ohio State has a lot to worry about. … Overall, [Democrats] should be very excited about their special election results, in fact. Georgia 6 was the worst of the bunch.
Harry Enten: Overall, I think the special elections are a great sign for the Democrats.
Perry Bacon, Jr.: My general reaction is to not underreact to things anymore, since I under-reacted to the events of 2015 (the rise of Sanders and Trump.) So this does not change my overall view that Democrats have a strong chance of winning the House in 2018.
And…exhale.
CHEERS to sum' sum' summertime. A good time was had by all over the weekend at our New England Kossack meetup at Mayim's fabled cottage on the lake near Oxford, Maine Saturday. Weather: sunny and 80. The rubber ducky brigade included: DtheO, nhox42, Vacationland, LoreleiHI, Common Sense Mainer, Yours Truly, and assorted pooties and woozles. Great food, feisty political conversation and unbeatable scenery ruled the day. Thanks again for your hospitality, Mayim. By the way, if your own little corner of heaven is having a Kossack meetup, drop me a note and I'll give it some ink in C&J. (And also let the Connect-Unite-Act team know so they can add it to their full meetup list.) They're fun, nutritious and, best of all knowing you're having a good time always drives the Puritans crazy.
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CHEERS and JEERS to our judicial branch overlords. On the plus side, the Supreme Court ruled that gay couples have the same rights regarding birth certificates of their kids as straight couples, and refused to hear two cases brought by the gun nuts. On the minus side, they agreed to hear arguments for Trump’s anti-Muslim travel ban in the fall, but left the ban partially intact. This tweet puts the state of refugees and immigrants who want to come to America in perspective:
Feel the love.
JEERS to the opposition…wherever the hell it is. The (white-skinned, of course) Lord Almighty, speaking through the American Nazi movement, commanded that every able-bodied snowflake goose-stepper show up in Washington D.C. Saturday for a glorious million-person rally protesting hateful comments against hateful commenter Donald Trump. This was the actual scene:
Grand total: less than 100 people showed up at the two separate rallies. The amateurs obviously forgot Rule #1 for organizing, as clearly stated in Mein Kampf: don’t forget to advertise free strudel.
CHEERS to workin' on the wire without a net. On June 27, 1846, New York and Boston were linked by telegraph wires for the first time ever. Unfortunately people kept tripping over them, so the following week they invented the telegraph pole.
JEERS to 22 million reasons to hate Republicans with the intensity of a thousand suns. The Affordable Care Act added 20 million people to health insurance, and now we learn that, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the Senate Trumpcare bill will take health insurance away from 22 million people. And now that your blood pressure is about to blow its top, please enjoy this soothing vid of a baby elephant doing what baby elephants do…
By the way, I picked up the phone and filled the ear of one of Senator Susan Collins' staffers yesterday, urging her to seal the Trumpcare money grab in a lockbox and drop it off a pier. Shouldn’t be a problem. We have a lot of those up here.
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Ten years ago in C&J: June 27, 2007
JEERS to the metric system: Iraq style. General Peter Pace says that the level of violence isn’t the right metric to use when assessing progress in Iraq. We agree. It should be the progress of the Iraqi military to take over so we can go home. And on that score they continue to suck:
The U.S. commander of a new offensive north of Baghdad, reclaiming insurgent territory day by day, said yesterday his Iraqi partners may be too weak to hold onto the gains made. The Iraqi military does not even have enough ammunition, said Brig. Gen.Mick Bednarek: "They're not quite up to the job yet." His counterpart south of Baghdad seemed to agree, saying U.S. troops are too few to garrison the districts in the capital newly rid of insurgents.
Sorry, army wives...looks like you're cuttin' the grass yourself for another summer.
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And just one more…
CHEERS to the Greatest Moment in World History. I grew up with the bleeps and bloops of Atari games ringing in my ears, and to this day I see a shadow image of their iconic graphics every time I blink. Atari marked its first full day as a company 45 years ago today, and for that my inner geek thanks founder Nolan Bushnell, who muses on how far we’ve come since those early glory days, and where video games are headed:
My first addictions on this wacky planet, besides candy cigarettes and Hogan's Heroes, were Missile Command, Battlezone, and Asteroids, each following Bushnell's formula of being "simple to learn but impossible to master." They retain their simple elegance and pulse-quickening qualities four-plus decades later. Go ahead..click here and release your inner nerd from captivity. Time spent with an Atari classic will not be deducted from your lifespan.
Have a nice Tuesday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
Family Research Council Warns Obama Running Anti-Christian ‘Shadow Government’ From Cheers and Jeers kiddie pool Command Center
---Right Wing Watch
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