From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
Brace Yourselves for Some Good News
The Alliance for Justice is billed as "a national association of environmental, civil rights, mental health, women's, children's and consumer advocacy organization" that "works to ensure that the federal judiciary advances core constitutional values, preserves human rights and unfettered access to the courts, and adheres to the even-handed administration of justice for all Americans." They're out with a new report on President Obama's judicial record when it comes to appointing women.
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Pretty strong stuff:
President Obama has named a greater percentage of women to federal judgeships than any other president in American history – in fact, no other president comes close.
"This administration deserves credit for working to create a federal judiciary that more closely reflects the richness and diversity of the American people,” said AFJ President Nan Aron. Among the other notable facts in AFJ’s report:
● President Obama is the first President to appoint two women to the Supreme Court. Because of those appointees, three women sit on the Supreme Court for the first time in its history.
● Forty-two percent (42%) of President Obama’s appointees have been women – a rate almost double that of President George W. Bush (22%) and almost fifty percent greater than that of President Clinton (29%).
● President Obama already has appointed more female federal judges than President George W. Bush did in his entire presidency (80 to 71).
● President Obama already has appointed more minority women judges (33) than President George W. Bush (22) or President Clinton (23).
● President Obama has quintupled the number of Asian Pacific American woman Article III judges in history (from 2 to 10).
More details
here. It's a good start, Mr. President. A very good start.
What say we double it?
Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Note: Surprise!!! It's me, John Quinones, host of the hit ABC show What Would You Do? And I just caught you trying to lick the word "Note" off your monitor. Let's all watch it in slo-mo and speculate on how this moment is going to ruin your life. But first...gimme a hug!
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til the presidential election in Iran: 2
Days 'til the Steamtown Beer and Music Festival in Scranton, Pennsylvania: 3
Signing bonus for psychiatrists willing to sign up with the Army for four years: $272,000
(Source: Time)
Percent of American adults who view marriage rights for same-sex couples as inevitable: 72%
(Source: Pew poll)
Supposed rank of "Okay" and "Coca-cola" among the most popular words on the planet: #1, #2
(Source: Parade)
Amount of time, by tradition, that each member of the NHL championship team gets to spend with the Stanley Cup: 1 day
NBA Finals:
San Antonio Spurs 2 Miami Heat 1
Stanley Cup Finals:
Boston Bruins 0 Chicago Blackhawks 0 (Game 1 is tonight!)
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Mid-week Rapture Index: 185 (including 3 plagues and 1 angry god). Soul Protection Factor 18 lotion is recommended if you’ll be walking amongst the heathen today.
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Puppy Pic of the Day: A different kind of pup today. And also a Moment of Zen…
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CHEERS to finding a fresh pulse. Remember a couple years back when Republicans fucked the economy up so bad that Standard & Poor's spanked our bottoms and then sent us all to bed without supper? We had never been downgraded in our history, and yet the GOP's Obama Derangement Syndrome made it happen. It was humiliating. China kicked sand in our face and other planets laughed at us. Well say hello to my leedle extended middle fingers, universe, because the USA is BACK (sorta):
"USA! USA!"
S&P raised its outlook on the country’s long-term credit rating to stable from negative, and said the U.S. has less than a one-in-three chance of another downgrade in the near term. … S&P on Monday also reaffirmed its AA+ long-term sovereign credit rating on the U.S.
The ratings agency said that it has seen “tentative improvements” on two fronts. It cited the year-end fiscal cliff deal between Democrats and Republicans that put in place tax increases and spending cuts. And, S&P said, stronger-than-expected private-sector contributions to economic growth combined with increased payments to the government from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have led to downward revisions of U.S. deficits.
In the C&J cafeteria today: Happy Meals with irrational exuberance pie.
CHEERS to opening the gate. Astonishing, really, when you think about it---an immigration vote actually passed by a landslide in the Senate yesterday. Seriously, it was 82 "Yeas" to 15 "I can't have illegals running around here I'm running for office for Pete's sakes." The brave and daring vote clears the Herculean hurdle of giving the Senate permission to talk about immigration reform. Or in Ted Cruz's case, grunt..
CHEERS to the skinny Brit twit behind the Yankee's desk. Jon Stewart is taking a summer-long break from The Daily Show to shoot a movie, so contributor John Oliver is filling in as host without missing a beat. In fact, I'm not so sure that Oliver isn't, um, better. (Shut up, Bill! Don’t think like that! It's treason!!!) Monday night he was talking about the NSA leaks---or, rather, the contractor-hired-by-NSA leaks---and the mass-hoovering up of all our personal data to the exclusion of no one. After showing a clip of President Obama saying there's nothing illegal about the NSA operation, Oliver said:
"I think you're misunderstanding the perceived problem here, Mr. President. No one is saying that you broke any laws. We're just saying it's a little bit weird that you didn’t have to."
Heckuva job, Congress.
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Gong! Gong!! BuddaBuddaBudda… GONG!!!
This is another edition of The One Word Answer Man. Over at the Baby Blue Cherub, Atrios asks: If massive long term unemployment isn’t on the teevee, does it really exist?
Yes.
Now back to Cheers and Jeers.
Gong! Gong!! BuddaBuddaBudda… GONG!!!
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CHEERS to an epic fisticuffs…with wurdz! Last night in Springfield, Massachusetts, it was the "Malden Mauler" vs. the "Cohasset Private Equity Investor" as Rep. Ed Markey (D) battled Gabriel Gomez (R) in the second debate leading up to the June 25 special election to fill John Kerry's Senate seat. A summary of the action:
As things stand now in the latest Suffolk poll, Markey holds a
seven point lead over Gomez, and today President Obama
stumps for him in Roxbury. Gomez, meanwhile, will spend the day playing ping-pong with his positions.
CHEERS to a Loving legacy. When civil rights pioneer Mildred Loving died five years ago at 68, she left behind a milestone that reached its dramatic height 46 years ago. On June 12, 1967, the Supreme Court ruled on a case called Loving v. Virginia, striking down state miscegenation laws (Virginia's had been on the parchment since the mid-1600s). As we await the Roberts court's impending same-sex marriage rulings on Prop. 8 and DOMA, it's worth revisiting the statement Loving issued on the 40th anniversary of the announcement of the Supreme Court ruling in her case, if only to remind ourselves what a radical socialist hooligan she was:
I [Heart] Mildred
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The older generation’s fears and prejudices have given way, and today’s young people realize that if someone loves someone they have a right to marry.
Surrounded as I am now by wonderful children and grandchildren, not a day goes by that I don’t think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the "wrong kind of person" for me to marry. I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry. Government has no business imposing some people’s religious beliefs over others. Especially if it denies people’s civil rights.
I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard’s and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That’s what Loving, and loving, are all about.
Love it.
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Five years ago in C&J: June 12, 2008
CHEERS to ramping up. The Obama campaign is in full general-election mode, and one of the many smart things they're doing is hiring staff to take baseball bats to all the e-mail sliming that's been going on:
"Time to get busy destroying
the world, my sweet Johnny..."
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Barack Obama is recruiting senior staff to a new unit which will combat virulent rumour campaigns on the internet that threaten to cost him votes in the presidential election against John McCain. ...
"With Obama, it is particularly vicious," [Brooks Jackson, director of the Washington-based FactCheck.org] said. He added that one of the most persistent is that Obama, a Christian, is "some kind of Muslim Manchurian candidate, planted by Islamic fundamentalists to betray the country and it is very widespread."
Perhaps they can start their work by pointing out to the right-wingers that the Manchurian candidate was actually a white veteran who was brainwashed in a POW camp. And then they can state the truth: if elected, John McCain's mother will show him the Queen of Diamonds, upon which he'll turn into a gay Lindsay Graham-marrying abortion doctor who wants to outlaw guns, slash the military, ban creationism in science class, grow hemp and mandate comprehensive sex education. Cruel, I know...but they need to hear it before it's
too late!
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And just one more…
Simply the best. Ayuh.
CHEERS to
good the
best eatin'. When it comes to summer seafood, I'm kinda partial to
The Lobster Shack down the road apiece in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. But we have a saying up here: "Ya can't row a dinghy if the moon is red, the seaweed is slippery, and the gulls are flyin' round in circles above the dune grass smokin' moose-antler velvet from a scrimshaw pipe." We have no idea what that means, but anyway congratulations to The Lobster Shack's shackerrific cousin
The Clam Shack in Kennebunk for winning the coveted distinction of having
America's Best Lobster Roll. The award was bestowed at the Tasting Table's Fourth annual Lobster Roll Rumble and reflects a lot of hard work---hours, days and weeks of total dedication to "lobsterfection" against impossible odds and competitors from the mega-cities who thought they could waltz in and eat the little guys for lunch. In fact, you might say that in pursuing the lobster roll crown, the crew at The Clam Shack had to…claw their way to the top.
Oh, and happy 89th birthday to former President George H.W. Bush, whom some say performed the very first terrorist fist-jab. 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 must carry the movie, and carry it he does. I don’t think anyone could ask for a better Superman---he seems to intrinsically get the character, and he also has the right physique for the role.
---Nordling
Ain't It Cool News
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