From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
Workin' the Wireless Without a Net
There's some dispute as to when Daily Kos Radio made its debut. Original and current host David Waldman (KagroX) suggested on Twitter he though it was June of last year. But I shouted him down and then cut his mic after reminding him of this post by Armando two years ago today:
Today is the launch of Daily Kos Radio on Sirius XM Channel 127 The show runs from 10 am - 1:00 pm EST Saturdays from August 13- September 3. … Join us. It will be fun, exciting and if when we screw up, you can point and laugh.
"Not now, dear. Mommy is spending
her quality time with Kagro."
-
During their "Sirius Period," which some have likened to Picasso's Blue Period, Kagro and Armando's verbal artistry captured the nation's attention, and it came to an abrupt end only after they got caught raiding the fridge in the break room and were impeached by Darrell Issa. (I swear, that guy's everywhere.) But Sirius's loss was NetrootsRadio.com's gain. Today "Kagro in the Morning" airs live from 9 to 11 ET and you can listen to the podcast any old time.
I majored in radio broadcasting back in the 1900s and was more or less competent in the programming side of it. There was one exception: the talk format. It ain't easy to sit in a chair and listen to yourself talk and talk and talk, let alone be good enough to get other people to listen to you do it. I sucked at it. David, on the other hand---with able assists by Armando, Greg Dworkin, Joan McCarter and others---is a natural. There, I said it. He's better than me. Dammit.
As you can tell from his years of blogging about the odd workings of Congress and, more recently, our country's seeming inability to handle guns safely, David knows his stuff and communicates it with wit, outside-the-beltway common sense, a voice like pie, and just enough incredulity at the state of things to make you wonder if he's just moments away from going Howard Beale on the world.
So check out the Daily Kos Radio preview post that'll show up above this one momentarily, and then lend 'em your ears. Brought to you by the friendly folks Acme Soap Flakes...for all your soap flake needs. Located in your friendly grocer's pudding section for reasons we can't explain.
Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Note: Today is Tuesday the thirteenth. Not unlucky, per se, but watch out for stray lightning bolts and take appropriate evasive measures if you see one above your head. (Start by surrounding yourself with orange cones so people will know to stay clear.)
-
12 days!!!
-
By the Numbers:
Days 'til Rosh Hashanah:
23
Days 'til the
9th annual Austin Night of the Bat Fest:
12
Estimated number of Americans who have a top-secret security clearance:
1.4 million
(Source: Harper's Index)
Decline in corporate income tax revenue in Maine this year, because of generous tax cuts made by our tea party governor back when he had Republican majorities in the legislature:
26%
(Source:
The Portland Press Herald)
Flights that left on-time from Beijing's Capital International Airport in June---the worst airport record anywhere:
18%
(Source: Time)
Size of the bounty for shooting down a drone, as proposed in Deer Hills, Colorado which will vote on it in October:
$100
(Source:
USA Today)
Rank of the 1993 29-cent Elvis stamp among most popular stamps of all-time:
#1
(Source: USPS)
-
Tuesday Words of Wisdom from the Right-wing Blogosphere:
THE ARABS ARE ALL KILLERS AND THE ISLAMIC WORLD IS REALLY SATANS DISGUISE OF HELL. OBAMA IS A MUSLIM AND IS DESTROYING THE US BIT BY BIT, AS THE NAIVE AMERICANS SLOWLY BECOME HIS SLAVE. FOOLS THE AMERICANS ARE, AND THE ONLY SMART ONES ARE THE ONES WITH GUNS AND SUPPLIES, AS A CIVIL WAR WILL SOON BE STARTING AS THE OBAMA REGIME TRIES TO INCARCERATE GUN OWNERS AND PATRIOTS. GOD IS ON OUR SIDE, AND WE SHALL PREVAIL OVER THE EVIL OBAMA AND HIS GESTAPO.
---Commenter Jabauer at World Net Daily
All together now: 1…2…3…
BORING.
-
Puppy Pic of the Day: This morning I withhold my usual contempt for the Tampa Bay Rays because of Awwwwww so cuuuute…..
-
CHEERS to little reminders that could save you a bundle. If you're thinking about going to the
2014 Netroots Nation convention in Detroit (July 17-20), keep in mind that the lowest-price tier will go up
tonight at midnight Pacific Time. After that, it goes up to God Only Knows What. To get the low price,
Click here and choose the "Activist Registration" option. As a special bonus, we'll come to your home and give you a free photo-op in front of a battleship. (Disclaimer: must provide trailer large enough to haul a battleship to your home, and agree to pay fines incurred for all the red lights we plan to run.)
What the NJ primary
election will look like
from the Space Station.
-
CHEERS to votin' day. Okay, New Jerseyites. Time to go to the polls and pull the lever (or whatever you do in your voting booths) for your choice to be the Democratic candidate in the October special election to replace the late Frank Lautenberg. Your
choices:
Newark Mayor Cory Booker
Congressman Frank Pallone
Representative Rush Holt
Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver.
(The GOP will be voting for…oh does it matter?) If Booker goes all the way---as seems likely---he'll become the first person in history to reach the Senate by using a new campaign tactic called "rescuing anything that's not nailed down." Karl Rove is watching…and taking notes.
JEERS to jackasses who have long outlived their...um... 46 million minutes of fame. Cuban President Fidel Castro has managed to claw and scratch his way to an 87th birthday. His wish as he blows out his candles: unity and strength for Cuba and her people. And a big ol' grin for outlasting arch-enemies Ike, JFK, LBJ, Tricky Dick, Ford, St. Ronnie, G.H.W.B., Bubba, GWB and, so far, BHO. Love him or hate him, that's impressive.
CHEERS to judicial restraint. Let's just get this out of our system now: "Wow!!!!" Didn’t see this coming:
Sorry. Pot smoking is much
more chill than this.
-
Attorney General Eric Holder directed federal prosecutors on Monday to change the way they file charges for some drug crimes, to reduce the number of convictions for offenses that carry inflexible, mandatory minimum sentences. The nation’s top law enforcement official called for a “fundamentally new approach” to enforcing drug laws in order to help alleviate prison overcrowding and reduce race-based disparities in drug prosecutions.
“It's clear - as we come together today - that too many Americans go to too many prisons for far too long, and for no truly good law enforcement reason. It's clear, at a basic level, that 20th-century criminal justice solutions are not adequate to overcome our 21st-century challenges,” Holder told the annual meeting of the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates in San Francisco. “And it is well past time to implement common sense changes that will foster safer communities from coast to coast.”
Holder says that, among other things, he's ordering the Justice Department to take it down a notch when it comes to prosecuting small-time, non-violent pot smokers. Or as they're better known: pot smokers.
CHEERS to saying NO. You may have heard about a prominent sporting competition in Russia that's coming up. You may have also heard that Russia has put in place barbaric laws against its LGBT citizens. But what you may not have heard yet is that the United States is boycotting that sporting event in Russia because of those laws. So three cheers today to…the dog people:
The poker tourney in
Paris is still a go.
"On behalf of the American Kennel Club, our member clubs, and the American purebred dog fancy, we urge you to move the 2016 World Dog Show from Russia to a nation that respects and upholds human rights for all its citizens. The international dog community deserves to enjoy the World Dog Show in a place that stands for freedom and equal rights for all. AKC cannot and will not support participation in the 2016 World Dog Show if it is held in Russia. As exhibitors, breeders, handlers and trainers, we teach our dogs many things. But there is no denying, they teach us too. Our bond with dogs is not defined by the type of person who holds the leash. We cannot support competition in an environment where tolerance does not exist."
The AKC-registered dogs thanked the organization for their support, and vowed to continue raising awareness of Russia's human rights record by pooping on the front stoops of their embassies. (Watch your step, Olympic protesters.)
Our sink looked this
clean for, like, one day.
CHEERS to Great Moments in Inventin' Shit That's Cool 'n All. Wipe that doughnut powder off your face and sit up straight, this is important. Today's the 100th anniversary of the invention of stainless steel. It was created by metallurgist Harry
Reid Potter Truman Brearley, who had the good sense to "add chromium to molten iron [that] produced a metal that didn’t rust." Today stainless steel is a ubiquitous part of life on earth. But to survive the slings and arrows of being the president of the United States, only Teflon will do.
-
Five years ago in C&J: August 13, 2008
CHEERS to Hawaii-YAH!!! Over the weekend I watched Cokie Roberts of ABC News insult a great American state on national TV without batting an eye. By calling Hawaii "foreign" and "exotic" in the context of Barack Obama's candidacy (he must be foreign and exotic too!), she proved that she's willing to regurgitate official GOP talking points at the expense of her fellow citizens who, I'm sure, she would encourage to "eat cake." So it's funny as hell that exotic U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka just towel-snapped her with a studded leather lei:
"Saying our 50th state is somehow 'foreign,' does a great disservice to the hard working, patriotic Americans who call Hawaii home. For months people have been asking me, 'when is Sen. Obama going to come home?' I'm so glad he found time to visit his sister and his grandmother, show his daughters more of his home state, and relax a little. Hawaii is a great U.S. destination, just ask the 5.5 million Americans who visited last year for business and pleasure."
Aloha ha ha ha.
-
And just one more…
CHEERS to your daily Anthony Weiner update. Here it is, your daily Anthony Weiner update:
Just kidding. They're baby tigers born last week at the National Zoo. I don’t do Weiner updates anymore. They keep making me nod off.
Have a nice Tuesday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
-
Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
Judge In Tennessee Changes Baby’s Name From ‘Bill in Portland Maine’ To ‘Martin’
---TPM
-