From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE...
Going nuclear on the Portland Press Herald:
Good morning. In your lead editorial of 4/25/05 ("GOP has the right to do business with 51 votes"), you wrote that, "Indeed, minority Democrats have dubbed the rule change the `nuclear option,' and have threatened to shut down the Senate if it is used."
In fact, it was the Republican party that coined the term. On November 14, 2004, there was the following exchange on Fox News with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist:
CHRIS WALLACE: Well, let me ask you about one of them, because some Republicans are talking about what they call the nuclear option, and that would be a ruling that the filibuster of executive nominees is unconstitutional, which would require not 60 or 67 votes but only a simple majority of 51.
SEN. BILL FRIST: Yes. That's right.
WALLACE: Are you prepared to do that?
FRIST: Oh, it's clearly one of the options. I've always said it's one of the options. What it basically -- it's called the nuclear option. It's really a constitutional option. And what that means is that the Constitution says you, as a Senate, give advice and consent, and that is a majority vote. And then you vote on that, and that takes 50 votes to pass.
It sure sounds to me like Bill Frist was embracing the term "nuclear option" like a Teddy bear---not something one would ordinarily do with a term that was thought up by the opposing party. I believe a correction is in order unless you can specifically cite the source for your claim that the term "nuclear option" was created by the Democratic party.
Sincerely,
Billy Thorninyourside
Cheers and Jeers starts in There's Moreville... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Monday, April 25, 2005...
Note: In the event of an emergency water landing, take a few moments to enjoy the natural habitat of the sea's most wondrous creatures. After all, it's not very often you get to visit this part of the ocean without being part of some perfunctory tour led by a drunk named "Cap'n Jack." So make the most of it!
By the Numbers:
Days `til Mother's Day: 13
Percent of April that's over: 83%
Percent of Americans aged 65+ who said they read a newspaper "yesterday": 60%
Percent of Americans aged 30-49 who said they read one: 39%
(Source: George Will)
Percent of Germans who wanted Cardinal Ratzinger to become pope: 29%
(Source: der Spiegel)
U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq last week: 12
Your Puppy Pic of the Day Late...late...late! "God, I hate Mondays".
CHEERS to your Monday morning pick-me-up. Knight-Ridder published a lovely piece Saturday showing just how bogged down President Bush has become only 3 months into his second term. Says pollster John Zogby: "We're in the lame-duck period. Each day that passes, the duck gets lamer. The window (of opportunity) has passed. If he wasn't able to come off the voting (in Iraq) and turn it into more of a popular mandate, I don't know what he can do." Quack, hobble...Quack, hobble...
JEERS to growing old in the Pine Tree State. Last Friday's Portland Press Herald: "If President Bush's plan for Social Security were in place today, at least 33,000 [Maine senior citizens] would be in poverty and the state would be left to shoulder the burden..." But it's not all bad. The President promises that "gourmet-quality" Fancy Feast will be added to the "acceptable" cat food list in the food stamp program. Hey, with a little paprika...
JEERS to irrational exuberance. Remember that little lull in insurgent violence right after the Iraq elections? Remember how the media started gushing---with tears streaming down their cheeks---about how "Bush was right! Dear God, Bush was right!" Well, according to a U.S. official in Baghdad, "Definitely, violence is getting worse". Like, really, really worse. We're sure the media retractions will commence forthwith.
CHEERS to double whammies. Two fresh allegations that Dick Cheney's favorite corrupt corporation, Halliburton, is even more wasteful and incompetent than we thought (as if that was possible). Of course, nothing will come of this and the stories will be dropped like hot potatoes. Sorry...don't even know why we brought it up except to fill space.
JEERS to befuddled balloteers. The first chairman of a new agency in charge of reforming our scattershot voting system has resigned. Why? Because, in his words, "All four of us had to work without staff, without offices, without resources. I don't think our sense of personal obligation has been matched by a corresponding sense of commitment to real reform from the federal government." Gee, what was your first clue?
CHEERS to genome sweet genome. On April 25, 1953, scientists identified DNA for the first time. And as this model demonstrates, they simultaneously figured out why, if one Christmas tree bulb burns out, they all burn out. Ah, science!
JEERS to brass knuckleheads. An internal Army investigation of senior officers' involvement in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal has reached a stunning conclusion: Abuses? We don't see no stinkin' abuses! And yet you and I would get booted out on our ass if we so much as swiped a paperclip from work. Must be awful nice to be packin' a bird or a star on your shoulder.
CHEERS to Kodak moments. 15 years ago today, the Hubble space telescope was placed into orbit by the crew of the shuttle Discovery. Click here to view crystal-clear images of galaxies far, far away. Democrats will see the wonder of an evolving universe. Republicans will see oil and potential Christian converts.
CHEERS to moral depravity. 5 years ago today, while he was still Vermont's governor, Howard Dean signed the first civil unions bill in the nation. Number of state locust-control agents that have needed to be hired since then: zippo, baby.
JEERS to the dumbest guys on the planet. Keep an eye out at your local indie theatre for a new documentary called Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. How frustrating that, 3 years later, Kenny Boy is still free to walk to the theatre on his own two feet. May he choke on his Goobers.
CHEERS to bullshitters. Because without `em, the third season of Penn & Teller's huckster-hunting show, `Bullshit,' wouldn't be starting its 3rd season on Showtime. Tonight's episode "will make every man feel regret, cringe with pain, and grab their genitals. What would make the male sex react like this? Two words--snip and chuck." Um...maybe we'll start with episode two.
JEERS to White House security. Jeebus, you guys!! The Secret service can't even keep track of the comings and goings of a male prostitute posing as a reporter?!! In our opinion, such sloppiness can only mean one thing: gay sex in high places. Very...high places.
CHEERS to great newsmen. Happy 97th birthday to Edward R. Murrow. He had more journalistic integrity in his pinky than the entire gaggle of misfits at Fox News, but chain-smoking snuffed out his life prematurely at 57. Hear excerpts of his W.W. II and McCarthy hearing reports here. Mold = Broken.
CHEERS to today's health tip from Dr. Bill. Researchers at Harvard Medical School say that drinking too much water might kill you. So, to be safe, be sure to down your rum & Coke before the ice cubes have a chance to melt. That'll be $25, please.
C&J Flashback: April 25, 2004...
CHEERS to Pat Tillman. A hero struck down while serving his country who deserves our praise? You bet. But 10-yard penalty for fawning media attention at the exclusion of other soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.
JEERS to sleezebag swap-out. Michael Jackson is replacing his slick lawyers with...another slick lawyer! Discuss, discuss, discuss...before this case fades into obscurity.
And just one more...
CHEERS to cover snark. In an interview with Columbia Journalism Review, the guy who wrote last week's love poem to Ann "Wipe them out...all of them" Coulter for Time magazine defends himself by saying, "Brian, Brian, we have put Josef Stalin on the cover. We have made Adolf Hitler the person of the year." Blogger Darrell Plant uncovers those musty dusties (via Atrios) and finds them oddly familiar. By the way, you have cancelled your subscription, right?
Floor's open. What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless Testimonial:
"I'm looking forward to getting my hands dirty. Looking forward to Cheers and Jeers."
George W. Bush
4/22/05.
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