From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
Thankyuhvrrrrmuch
Saturday was disgraced Republican president Richard Nixon's 103rd birthday. That's my brilliant lead-in for this little item I can soon cross off my bucket list: seeing a movie about "the untold true story behind the meeting between the King of Rock 'n Roll and President Nixon, resulting in…the most requested photograph in the National Archives."
Kevin Spacey as Nixon. Michael Shannon as Elvis. Oh my...
Official site here. Opens in April. I'm already standing in line.
(h/t Joe.My.God.)
Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Monday, January 11, 2016
Note: January is Bath Safety Month. If you live in Flint, Michigan, there’s pretty much only one safety tip you need to know: don't take a bath!!!
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til the next Republican and Democratic debate: 3, 6
Days 'til the BrickFair Lego Festival in Birmingham, Alabama: 5
Percent of U.S. economic activity made up of global trade, one of the lowest percentages in the world according to AP: 30%
Percent increase in the number of U.S. right-wing militia groups since 2014, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center: 37%
Number of days the most recent escape of Mexican drug lord "El Chapo" lasted: 181
Rank of Lebanon NH, Los Alamos NM, and Durango CO among the top 100 best small towns in America according to Livability.com: #1, #2, #3
Totally random weekend NFL playoff scores:
Kansas City Chiefs 30 Houston Texans 0
Green Bay Packers 35 Washington Mascots That Shall Not Be Named 18
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NEW Monday Feature! Meet Me in St. Louis
Brought to you by the 2016 Netroots Nation Convention in St. Louis, July 14-17. The elephant in St. Louis's living room is the 50-year-old, 630-foot-high Gateway Arch, one of the most iconic man-made structures in America:
Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of an inverted, weighted catenary arch, it is the world's tallest arch the tallest man-made monument in the Western hemisphere, and Missouri's tallest accessible building. Built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States, it is the centerpiece of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial and has become an internationally famous symbol of St. Louis.
The Gateway Arch was designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen in 1947; construction began on February 12, 1963, and was completed on October 28, 1965, for $13 million (equivalent to $180 million in 2013).
More info at the official site.
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Puppy Pic of the Day:
Puppy Bowl XII starting lineup
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JEERS to cancer. Talk about feeling like you just got hit in the face with a frying pan. Just days after both his 69th birthday and the release of a spectacularly-reviewed new album, David Bowie died. There are going to be thousands and thousands of words written in tribute to his career as a pop star, actor and boundary-pusher, but only four are really needed: he was David Bowie.
CHEERS to the Great Hippie Convergence of Aught Sixteen. A good time was had by all at the mid-winter Daily Kos/C&J Meetup at the Farm Bar and Grille in Kittery, Maine Saturday. In attendance to talk politics, food, life and all the ways Star Wars VII is the greatest movie of all time were Kossacks Vacationland, LoreleiHI, Ed Tracey, Mayim, Nautical Knots, bJedward, Radical Simplicity, Anne Elizabeth, Common Sense Mainer, Bill in Portland Maine, C&J’s official pooch Haley, and our intrepid host and organizer, nhox42. Be sure to keep an eye out for scheduled meetups in your area---or organize one of your own---via the Connect! Act! Unite! posts. They're fun, they're foodylicious, they’re cathartic and, as always, time spent at a meetup is never deducted from your lifespan.
JEERS to the GOP’s small, small tent. A Muslim woman was escorted out of a Donald Trump rally in South Carolina over the weekend. Apparently she was making his followers inside the arena uncomfortable because she came to the rally with an IQ.
CHEERS and JEERS to dollars (if not sense). As we start another week (raise your hand if you're happy that January is now almost half over), here's a quick snapshot of economy/money headlines, good and bad, we flagged over the weekend:
> Job growth remains vigorous in resilient U.S.
> Black unemployment falls to lowest since 2007
> Spooked by China, stocks post worst week since '11
> Ford reports record sales in China
> Youngest boost savings faster than any other age group
> J.C. Penney holiday sales up while Macy's reports slump
> Nevada casinos hit by massive losses
> Wholesale inventories slip
> Consumer confidence tops estimates
> No evidence overseas weakness hurts U.S.
And in related news: cheerleaders for the Buffalo Bills, who are inexplicably considered independent contractors instead of regular employees by the team, have won the right to file a class-action suit against management for better wages and working conditions. C&J has these words of advice: “Rah rah ree, kick ‘em in the knee! Rah rah rass, kick ‘em in the other knee but first kick ‘em in the ass!” That’s how that goes...right?
JEERS to Camp Sunshine. My, how time flies when your captors are in your cell flushing your Quran down the toilet. Today marks the 14th anniversary of the grand opening of the gulag at Gitmo, a facility that President Obama and Democrats want to shutter but can’t because Republicans are too scared of housing the inmates in U.S. maximum-security prisons lest they do what no one ever does from U.S. maximum-security prisons: escape. But at least some progress is being made toward reducing the number:
The detainee population at Guantánamo Bay has fallen to 104 as a Kuwaiti man held at the infamous wartime prison since May 2002 has returned home.
Faiz Mohammed Ahmed al-Kandari, 38, is the third detainee to leave Guantánamo Bay this week, part of an initiative by Barack Obama expected to get the remaining population in detention significantly below 100.
It is expected that 17 people will be released in January. Two Yemenis, Mahmud Umar Muhammad bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih al-Dhuby, arrived in Ghana on Wednesday.
To mark today's anniversary, all the inmates will get a double-hosedown and fourteen tiny candles in their swill.
CHEERS to going round and round about rounds and rounds.
Late last week President Obama hosted a town hall meeting that was broadcast on CNN with an audience representing the breadth of the political spectrum to get their views on curbing bullet-related violence in our gun-happy country. Staring down the barrel of history and aiming for an advantage, all sides came to the event locked and loaded. They rifled through their ideas and then shot from the lip. They occasionally hit the bullseye, but sometimes ended up shooting blanks and missing the mark. By the end, everybody was up in arms and nobody was blown away, that is if you don’t count gun-cliché enthusiasts, who called it the greatest night of their life.
CHEERS to clearing the air....and the lungs. 52 years ago today, in 1964, U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry issued the first government report saying smoking may be hazardous to your health. (This came as quite a shock to some of tobacco's most fervent supporters, like doctors and Ronald Reagan.) The report had quite the impact:
The landmark Surgeon General's report on smoking and health stimulated a greatly increased concern about tobacco on the part of the American public and government policymakers and led to a broad-based anti-smoking campaign. ... The report was also responsible for the passage of the Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act of 1965, which, among other things, mandated the familiar Surgeon General's health warnings on cigarette packages.
If you're in the process of quitting or thinking of quitting, stop by the daily GUS (Giving Up Smoking) diaries here at DKos for tips and support. Your lungs and your bank account will thank you.
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Ten years ago in C&J: January 11, 2006
EH, WHATEVER to Day 1. The Senate judiciary committee's confirmation hearings of Samuel Alito began yesterday. Round 1 summary:
"Let's see. I'm an Aries. I love puppies, snowflakes, female subjugation, folk music, an imperial presidency and slumber parties. I think Nick Lachey is a creep and Jessica Simpson should make him pay! Does my Scooby Doo tank top make me look fat...?"
Maybe tomorrow Senator Coburn will shut up and let the nominee speak.
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And just one more…
CHEERS to the drunken yet talented victors. The Golden Globes were handed out last night. The speeches were mostly watchable, Ricky Gervais kept things unpredictable enough, and the mute button got a healthy workout. Congrats to the winners, including:
The Revenant for best Drama
The Martian for---this is true---Best Comedy
Leonardo DiCaprio for The Revenant
Brie Larson for Room
Jennifer Lawrence for Joy
Sylvester Stallone for Creed
Matt Damon for The Martian
Taraji Henson for Empire
Jon Hamm for Mad Men, which went off the air, what, 5 years ago?
Kate Winslet for Steve Jobs
Lady Gaga for American Horror Story
Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu for The Revenant
Composer Ennio Morricone’s score for The Hateful Eight…he’s 87!!!
The song Writing’s on the Wall from Spectre
Inside Out for best animated movie
Up next: the bloated, endless Oscars next month. I should probably start guzzling Red Bull now.
Have a tolerable Monday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
Our sources say officials at the Mayan ruins were extremely upset with Bill in Portland Maine shortly after he arrived because he climbed to the top of the ruins and mooned everyone.
---TMZ
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