Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Once again we're thankful, and rather awestruck, by what he accomplished for Black America—and, consequently, all of America—in his way-too-short life. He was flawed, as all humans are. But he had that stubborn 'ol dream. And come hell or high water (or fire hoses or guns or nightsticks or jail time or whatever else the racists could throw at the movement, which they still do) he refused to shut up and sit down, or match violence with violence. Take note, all you insurrection-fomenting nitwits:
Continued...
And despite the successes we had in the Senate during President Biden’s first three years, a couple years ago I made a vow to make watching this clip and glaring holes into the souls of Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema an annual MLK Day tradition:
As fate would have it, King and I coexisted on this tiny blue speck in the middle of nowhere, if only for three-and-a-half years. The older I get the cooler that fact gets. Of course, it’s not as cool as George Santos being legally adopted by the Kings and going on to singlehandedly found The King Center. But still cool.
And now, our feature presentation...
Cheers and Jeers for Monday, January 15, 2024
Note: If you wish to return a broken New Year's resolution for a refund or credit toward a future resolution, please take a number and have a seat. Our average wait time this morning is three and a half months. Thanks for your patience. —Mgt.
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By the Numbers:
6 days!!!
Days 'til the full "wolf moon": 10
Days 'til Cheeseburger Week in Pasadena, California: 6
Estimated number of Americans who have contracted the flu this season: 14 million
Flu-related hospitalizations: 150,000
Current number of eligible Hispanic voters, up from 32.3 million in 2020 and making up nearly 15 percent of the voting public: 36.2 million
Initial unemployment claims announced last week, down 1k from the previous week and still the lowest since 1970: 202,000
Year Fruit Stripe Gum, which is being discontinued this year, was introduced: 1960
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Puppy Pic of the Day: At Michigan's Pictured Rocks National Seashore: Saved!!!
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CHEERS to Cheers and Jeers: your official election headquarters. Nothing against the Daily Kos Elections Team, but for the real dope on the 2024 campaigns, you need to read my column every day. Why? Because I give you only what you need to know, which you'll know is all you need to know because it's in italics. Today's the day the MAGA cultists turn out for the Iowa caucuses, and these are the pertinent facts from our C&J desk in Des Moines:
C&J will have no results tonight as we'll be watching a decent episode of Star Trek and then finding something else to do. By all means, please tell me how it turns out so I can tell everyone else. If I die without winning a Pulitzer my mom will be terribly upset.
CHEERS to international shorts. I see London, I see France, I see Taiwan's underpants, ha ha ha ha ha! But seriously, folks. Elections were held in Taiwan over the weekend, and voters delivered a subtle message to the freedom killers in China: kiss our democracy-loving ass…
According to sources, Lai's first official act as president will be explaining to China the meaning of “equality and dignity.” Slowly, so they can keep up.
JEERS to messing with The Precious. 105 years ago this week, the tenacious temperance twits in Wyoming became the last ones necessary to ratify Prohibition, which went into effect on January 16, 1920...in the name, of course, of Jeeeeeezus. As a lapsed Episcopalian, I’d like to apologize for this on behalf of all my brethren and sistren:
The result: a huge spike in organized crime. The stock market crash of 1929 led to the eventual repeal of the 18th amendment on the premise that reviving a legit liquor industry would create jobs. So you might say that in a weird way the banksters toppled the gangsters. (Although, like today, it took authorities awhile to figure out who was who.)
YouTube Video
CHEERS to the 'Miracle on the Hudson.' File this story under “My, how time flies.” A hundred and fifty five airline passengers got a shock 15 years ago today when some suicide birds flew into the engines of Flight 1549 as it took off from LaGuardia, leaving it crippled with no way to keep it aloft. To give you an idea of the freakish nature of the event, and the skill of now-living-legend pilot Chesley Sullenberger in landing the craft, consider this:
The Miraculous Airbus is now on display at the Sullenberger Aviation Museum in Charlotte.
Last week "Sully" reunited with passengers and his co-pilot, and he might say a few words today to mark the anniversary. Nothing prepared, really. He'll just wing it.
P.S. This week also marks the anniversary of another infamous moment in public transportation: the time the captain of the cruise ship Costa Concordia tried to impress his lady friends by running it onto the rocks off the western coast of Italy. I looked it up, and the traditional twelve-year anniversary gift for a preventable shipwreck is a sterling silver facepalm. Same as all the other years.
CHEERS to order in the courts. Somebody call a wahmbulance. The MAGA cult in Wisconsin is butthurt this morning as they learn that a judge there told them to take their silly effort to get rid of the state's head of elections and stick it where the sun don't shine:
So now Wisconsin Republicans will be forced to deal with their worst nightmare: an election system that works. Someone fetch the fainting couch.
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Ten years ago in C&J: January 15, 2014
JEERS to Governor Payback. I can't keep up with all the charges—snubbed mayors, back-stabbings, financial misdeeds, revenge, incompetence—being slapped to the hull of the S.S. I'm Not A Bully. So let this be your proverbial picture worth a thousand words:
And guess what falls in our lap this afternoon at 3? Why, Governor Christie's state of the state address. We hear he plans to deliver it from a bus in case he need to throw anyone under it at the last minute.
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And just one more…
Have a tolerable Monday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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-
Once again we're thankful, and rather awestruck, by what he accomplished for Black America—and, consequently, all of America—in his way-too-short life. He was flawed, as all humans are. But he had that stubborn 'ol dream. And come hell or high water (or fire hoses or guns or nightsticks or jail time or whatever else the racists could throw at the movement, which they still do) he refused to shut up and sit down, or match violence with violence. Take note, all you insurrection-fomenting nitwits:
Continued...
"When evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind. When evil men shout ugly words of hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glories of love. Where evil men would seek to perpetuate an unjust status quo, good men must seek to bring a real order of justice."
With LBJ at the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
"Non-violence is a powerful and just weapon which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals."
And despite the successes we had in the Senate during President Biden’s first three years, a couple years ago I made a vow to make watching this clip and glaring holes into the souls of Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema an annual MLK Day tradition:
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As fate would have it, King and I coexisted on this tiny blue speck in the middle of nowhere, if only for three-and-a-half years. The older I get the cooler that fact gets. Of course, it’s not as cool as George Santos being legally adopted by the Kings and going on to singlehandedly found The King Center. But still cool.
And now, our feature presentation...
-
Cheers and Jeers for Monday, January 15, 2024
Note: If you wish to return a broken New Year's resolution for a refund or credit toward a future resolution, please take a number and have a seat. Our average wait time this morning is three and a half months. Thanks for your patience. —Mgt.
-
By the Numbers:
6 days!!!
Days 'til the full "wolf moon": 10
Days 'til Cheeseburger Week in Pasadena, California: 6
Estimated number of Americans who have contracted the flu this season: 14 million
Flu-related hospitalizations: 150,000
Current number of eligible Hispanic voters, up from 32.3 million in 2020 and making up nearly 15 percent of the voting public: 36.2 million
Initial unemployment claims announced last week, down 1k from the previous week and still the lowest since 1970: 202,000
Year Fruit Stripe Gum, which is being discontinued this year, was introduced: 1960
-
Puppy Pic of the Day: At Michigan's Pictured Rocks National Seashore: Saved!!!
-
CHEERS to Cheers and Jeers: your official election headquarters. Nothing against the Daily Kos Elections Team, but for the real dope on the 2024 campaigns, you need to read my column every day. Why? Because I give you only what you need to know, which you'll know is all you need to know because it's in italics. Today's the day the MAGA cultists turn out for the Iowa caucuses, and these are the pertinent facts from our C&J desk in Des Moines:
C&J will have no results tonight as we'll be watching a decent episode of Star Trek and then finding something else to do. By all means, please tell me how it turns out so I can tell everyone else. If I die without winning a Pulitzer my mom will be terribly upset.
CHEERS to international shorts. I see London, I see France, I see Taiwan's underpants, ha ha ha ha ha! But seriously, folks. Elections were held in Taiwan over the weekend, and voters delivered a subtle message to the freedom killers in China: kiss our democracy-loving ass…
Voters in Taiwan elected Vice President Lai Ching-te as their next president on Saturday, defying warnings from Beijing not to support a candidate it has called a separatist and a “troublemaker.” […]
President-elect Lai Ching-te.
Lai’s victory extends the eight-year rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which is considered the least friendly to Beijing. Relations between Taiwan and China have deteriorated under President Tsai Ing-wen, who was first elected in 2016 and is limited to two terms. […]
In the run-up to the vote, Lai said he would “maintain the status quo,” asserting Taiwan’s de facto independence and actively engaging with the U.S. and other democracies. But he said Taiwan’s door “will always be open to engagements with Beijing under the principles of equality and dignity.”
According to sources, Lai's first official act as president will be explaining to China the meaning of “equality and dignity.” Slowly, so they can keep up.
JEERS to messing with The Precious. 105 years ago this week, the tenacious temperance twits in Wyoming became the last ones necessary to ratify Prohibition, which went into effect on January 16, 1920...in the name, of course, of Jeeeeeezus. As a lapsed Episcopalian, I’d like to apologize for this on behalf of all my brethren and sistren:
Many Prohibition groups, called “dries”, were church-based, mainly Protestant denominations.
“Yeah. We’ll get right on that.”
The anti-Prohibition groups, or “wets”, tended to be mostly Roman Catholic, Episcopalian and Lutherans from Germany. Both major political parties had wet and dry factions.
[W]hen Congress convened in January, 1917, the mandate was clear: regardless of party, dries outnumbered wets in Congress by 2-to-1.
The result: a huge spike in organized crime. The stock market crash of 1929 led to the eventual repeal of the 18th amendment on the premise that reviving a legit liquor industry would create jobs. So you might say that in a weird way the banksters toppled the gangsters. (Although, like today, it took authorities awhile to figure out who was who.)
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BRIEF SANITY BREAK
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BRIEF SANITY BREAK
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YouTube Video
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END BRIEF SANITY BREAK
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END BRIEF SANITY BREAK
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CHEERS to the 'Miracle on the Hudson.' File this story under “My, how time flies.” A hundred and fifty five airline passengers got a shock 15 years ago today when some suicide birds flew into the engines of Flight 1549 as it took off from LaGuardia, leaving it crippled with no way to keep it aloft. To give you an idea of the freakish nature of the event, and the skill of now-living-legend pilot Chesley Sullenberger in landing the craft, consider this:
The Miraculous Airbus is now on display at the Sullenberger Aviation Museum in Charlotte.
Last week "Sully" reunited with passengers and his co-pilot, and he might say a few words today to mark the anniversary. Nothing prepared, really. He'll just wing it.
P.S. This week also marks the anniversary of another infamous moment in public transportation: the time the captain of the cruise ship Costa Concordia tried to impress his lady friends by running it onto the rocks off the western coast of Italy. I looked it up, and the traditional twelve-year anniversary gift for a preventable shipwreck is a sterling silver facepalm. Same as all the other years.
CHEERS to order in the courts. Somebody call a wahmbulance. The MAGA cult in Wisconsin is butthurt this morning as they learn that a judge there told them to take their silly effort to get rid of the state's head of elections and stick it where the sun don't shine:
Meagan Wolfe has been the subject of conspiracy theories and targeted by threats from Trump supporters who falsely claim she was part of a plot to rig the 2020 vote in favor of President Joe Biden.
Meagan Wolfe stays.
The fight over who will run the state’s elections agency, known as the WEC, has caused instability ahead of this year’s presidential race for Wisconsin’s more than1,800 local clerks, who actually run elections.
“I agree with WEC that the public expects stability in its elections system and this injunction will provide stability to protect against any further legally unsupported removal attempts,” Dane County Circuit Judge Ann Peacock wrote in her order Friday saying that Wolfe holds her position legally.
So now Wisconsin Republicans will be forced to deal with their worst nightmare: an election system that works. Someone fetch the fainting couch.
-
Ten years ago in C&J: January 15, 2014
JEERS to Governor Payback. I can't keep up with all the charges—snubbed mayors, back-stabbings, financial misdeeds, revenge, incompetence—being slapped to the hull of the S.S. I'm Not A Bully. So let this be your proverbial picture worth a thousand words:
And guess what falls in our lap this afternoon at 3? Why, Governor Christie's state of the state address. We hear he plans to deliver it from a bus in case he need to throw anyone under it at the last minute.
-
And just one more…
Due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday,
today's "Just One More" feature is closed.
If we catch you climbing over the
velvet rope, you are
so grounded,
bub.
today's "Just One More" feature is closed.
If we catch you climbing over the
velvet rope, you are
so grounded,
bub.
Have a tolerable Monday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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