Click to support Wisconsin Dems via the Orange to Blue 2012 page. Because Republicans suck...and they're stinkin' up the statehouse.
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From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
Late Night Snark (Mercifully Justin Bieber-free!)
"This whole [Egyptian] revolution was started by a Facebook page. So Mubarak wasn't so much deposed as de-friended."
---Bill Maher
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"I'm so unaccustomed to protests in the Middle East that don’t have 'Death To America' signs. I don’t know what to do."
---Rep. Anthony Weiner on Real Time
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"President Obama hosted Republican leaders for lunch at the White House. Obama had to do without salt, bread, pepper, and butter, but not for health reasons. The Republicans refused to pass anything."
---Jay Leno
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"For the very first time, a majority of likely 2012 Republican primary voters do not believe that Barack Obama is an American citizen. Fifty-one percent! I'm just so proud to have been born in a country where unsubstantiated rumors about people you don’t support become majority beliefs."
---Stephen Colbert
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"Joe Biden announced plans for a $53 billion train system. … Vice presidents love technology: Joe Biden with the trains, Al Gore with the Internet, and Dick Cheney with the electric torture clamps."
---Craig Ferguson
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"A man from Ohio is being called the 'Amish Bernie Madoff' for swindling Amish families out of millions of dollars. People became suspicious when they saw his horse pulling a Lamborghini."
---Conan O'Brien
Yay---we made it through Week One of DKos 4.0!!! Can we do 5.0 now, Daddy, huh huh huh??? Can we can we?????
Your west coast-friendly edition of Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Friday, February 18, 2011
Note: In yesterday's C&J poll, 80 percent of the 5,000-plus voters were in favor of Elizabeth Warren making a run for the U.S. Senate to replace Scott Brown. If you haven't signed the Daily Kos "Draft Elizabeth Warren for Senate" petition and would like to, here's the linky. Just make sure you understand that, if she runs and wins, she'll be bringing her hickory walking stick with her, and no kneecaps in the upper chamber will be safe.
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By the Numbers:
Days `til the Oscars: 9
Days `til the Festival of Chocolate in Orlando: 15
Percent chance that Lady Gaga's new single "Born That Way" is the 1,000th song to top the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart: 100%
(Source: Joe My God)
Percent of 2-5 year-olds who can operate a smartphone app: 19%
Percent of them who can tie their shoes: 9%
(Source: The Week)
Time it takes a star-nosed mole to eat a mouthful of earthworm: 0.23 seconds
Time it takes Glenn Beck to spew a mouthful of crap: 0.22 seconds
And from the Department of Homeland Security:
Days the color-coded federal terror alert system has been in place: 3,259
Days spent at terror alert level Blue or Green: 0
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Puppy Pic of the Day: "[A] woman carrying a nearly lifeless puppy walked into the station and pleaded for help. The firefighters didn't have to be asked twice."
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CHEERS to the Cheddar Revolution. Whoa, Nelly! Lately I've stopped trying to predict what the Big Story Of The Week will end up being, because something always comes out of left field (or should I say, Lambeau Field…Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!) to clinch the title. The protests in Wisconsin against a very bad, very-union-busting governor, have been inspiring to watch. Whereas the Republican tea party crowd was motivated by imaginary fears fueled by no longer having an war-happy Daddy figure in the White House, the crowds in Wisconsin are fighting a 100-percent real threat. The politics blog at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is doing a pretty good job updating the controlled chaos. One thing they point to---which I've been wondering about---is the public's opinion of the standoff. On that score there's good news for our side:
The poll asked respondents if they approve or disapprove of Walker’s plans. According to the poll, 43.05% approved and 51.9% disapproved. … Gregg Durham, chief operating officer of the polling group, said he decided to conduct the poll when he heard that the most people agreed with Walker’s initiativies.
Which, we now know, they do not. Meanwhile, the circus continues tomorrow with a counter-rally at the statehouse by---[Cuckoo! Cuckoo!]---the teabirtherbaggers, including the poster child for ethical malfeasance, Andrew Breitbart. And who will be coming out afterward to clean up the mess they leave behind? Public employees who belong to a union. You're fucking welcome.
P.S. I call out teabaggers on their Nazi-themed protest signs, and I also call out Democrats on their Nazi-themed protest signs. So tut-tut to whomever I saw on my teevee last night carrying one in Madison reading, "Heil Walker." Not helpful.
JEERS to inconvenient timing. Montana Rep. Joe Read has introduced a bill in the state legislature declaring that, as far as global warming is concerned, "human activity has not accelerated it…[it is] beneficial to the welfare and business climate of Montana." So he probably doesn’t want you to read this, then:
Extreme rainstorms and snowfalls have grown substantially stronger, two studies suggest, with scientists for the first time finding the telltale fingerprints of man-made global warming on downpours that often cause deadly flooding. Two studies in Wednesday's issue of the journal Nature link heavy rains to increases in greenhouse gases more than ever before.
[T]his is the first time researchers have been able to point to a demonstrable cause-and-effect by using the rigorous and scientifically accepted method of looking for the "fingerprints" of human-caused climate change.
It would appear that Joe Read has his facts a bit wrong. But he's right that global warming could be beneficial to the business climate in Montana. Assuming the state becomes a leading manufacturer of umbrellas, rubber rafts, sump pumps, and/or body bags.
JEERS to the big stall. On February 18, 1841, the first "ongoing" filibuster in the U.S. Senate began. It lasted until March 11. One thing we'll never have to worry about---a politician running out of words.
TWENTY HAIL MARYS to tracking your transgressions. Did you hear about the new Catholic iPhone app? It's designed to let you neatly and tidily keep track of all the times you've acted like a total rule-breaking jerkwad in front of God, so that when you go to confession you won't forget any of the sordid details of your sinful, sinful ways. Oh, and this is nice: for every ten sins you commit, you get one free. Oops, no, wait…sorry 'bout that. I'm being told that only applies to priests.
CHEERS to great discoveries. On this date in 1930, astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered a new planet (sadly no longer classified as a planet, but rather a "pathetic chunk of disappointment") in our solar system. He called it Pluto. Republicans called it Home.
OH NOES!!!! to sullying the nobility and credibility and solemnity of the United States government. Remember when Stephen Colbert appeared on Capitol Hill to promote better working conditions for migrant farm workers? Remember how Chuck Todd and his beltway ilk facepalmed their way into hysterics because Colbert cracked a few jokes? Ohhhhh…it was BORDERLINE TYRANNY, I TELL YOU!!!!! A MOCKERY of our noble institutions of government! A WASTE of precious time that could be better spent lying about deficits and passing Birther bills! So what happened when Arthur the Aardvark appeared---in character, no less---with leaders on Capitol Hill? Nothing but crickets. Which Arthur found quite tasty.
CHEERS to dependable character actors. Happy 86th Birthday to George Kennedy. He won his Oscar for `Cool Hand Luke' and achieved comic cult status in the `Naked Gun' flicks. But in our DVD player tonight: Airport. Because Joe Petroni sure knew how to handle a blizzard.
CHEERS to home vegetation. No shortage of teevee goodies this weekend. On HBO's Real Time, Bill Maher shares tender moments with Matt Taibbi, Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, John Heileman, Tavis Smiley and Kevin Smith. New DVD releases include the documentary Waiting for Superman (Hey, be patient---you know how hard it is to find a phone booth these days?) and the runaway-train action flick Unstoppable. Saturday night at 9 SNL reveals the backstage shenanigans that have gone on through the years. On 60 Minutes: Wael Ghonim, who is credited with being the driving social-media force behind the Egyptian revolution, and Scott Brown on abuse he experienced as a kid. And here's your Sunday morning lineup, now with C&J's EXCLUSIVE Watson intelligence index (Wii), in which one brain cell is awarded for each guest worth listening to:
Meet the Press: Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Lindsay Graham (R-Crouched Under His Desk Hiding From the Teabaggers); Roundtable with Jennifer Granholm, Ed Gillespie, Harold Ford and Rick Santelli. Wii: 2 brain cells.
This Week: Hillary! Wii: 1 really big brain cell.
Face the Nation: Budget fraudster Rep. Paul Ryan vs. the generally sane Rep. Chris van Hollen; CBS Washington reporter David Sanger; Report from the Middle East. Wii: 3 brain cells.
Washington Week: Jim Sciutto of ABC News on developments in Egypt; Doyle McManus of the Los Angeles Times on developments in the other hot spots over there; John Dickerson of Slate and Jeanne Cummings of Politico talk budget madness...and go mad themselves!!! Wii: 4 brain cells
CNN's State of the Union: Ugh…Rumsfeld. Wii: 0 brain cells east, west north or south somewhat.
Fox GOP Talking Points Sunday: Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO); Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker…but nobody who represents Wisconsin's public employees or their unions. (Fair! Balanced!) Roundtable with Bill Kristol, Liz Cheney, Mara Liasson, Juan Williams. Wii: 0 brain cells (Sorry, Claire, but any Democrat who goes on Fox is wasting everyone's time.)
Happy viewing!
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Five years ago in C&J: February 18, 2006
JEERS to the big picture. As a lot of intelligent folks have already pointed out, Cheney's hunting accident itself isn't the controversy---it's the secrecy, stonewalling and inconsistencies surrounding it, and thus a perfect microcosm of the Cheney/Bush administration. Defense attorney and former U.S. House of Representatives General Counsel Stanley Brand said this last night on Countdown:
The question here isn't an earth-shattering question of government. But it's emblematic of what this administration has done. They stiffed Congress on Katrina records. They claim executive privilege every other minute on eavesdropping and everything else. They are secretive to the max. They just don't think anyone has authority to look at what they do, whether it's the Congress of the United States or some sheriff in Texas.
Well, that's exaggerating just a tad. It's really more like every other minute and a half.
"SPLOT!" to the cellar dweller. That would be the sound of President Bush's post-State of the Union non-bounce. He actually dropped from 43 to 40 percent in the past month, according to the brand-new Harris poll. For those of you keeping track at home, his February approval ratings since 2001 go like this: 56, 79, 52, 51, 48, 40. And now you know at least one lottery ticket combination that's a guaranteed loser.
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And just one more…
CHEERS to close encounters. A NASA probe---the "Stardust-NExT"---took a series of Polaroids this week of an honest-to-god comet called Tempel 1. Here's an amazing view of the flyby. I'll never cease to be gobsmacked by how they manage to do that. It's tricky business:
Comets spew jets of gas and dust from beneath their surfaces, which act as little rocket thrusters, making the comet’s position hard to predict. In the final 16 hours, the spacecraft has to navigate on its own---signals from Earth would be too slow to direct last-second turns. And for five minutes before and after closest approach, Stardust-Next had to roll on its side to make sure the cameras were pointing straight at the comet’s heart, a maneuver that could have temporarily cut off communication with Earth. The spacecraft also has to fly through the hailstorm of the comet’s coma, where clumps of dirt and ice collide and come apart.
Back in 2005 we actually bombed it with an 800-pound hunk of metal to help determine the effect of a trip around the sun on its structural integrity. Today's it's better known as the one and only time during his presidency when George W. Bush successfully invaded a rock.
Have a great weekend. Oh, and Happy Birthday to Atrios, who today begins the process of turning 39 every February 18th for the rest of his life. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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