(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Cheers and Jeers: Monday [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-08-19 They're Back! When the blogosphere's feistiest octogenarians Margaret and Helen posted on Joe Biden's inauguration day, it sounded like they were signing off for good. So it's always a thrill on the rare occasions when they drop a new rant. With the Democratic convention starting today, it’s worth noting that they popped up in July before both the start of the GOP’s Weirdapalooza in Milwaukee, and Joe Biden’s proverbial passing of the torch to Kamala Harris. The latter part is no longer in play, but this part sure is: One [party] is full of felons, con artists and idiots. The other is filled with civic-minded civil servants who are experts in their fields. One is filled with resignations, felony convictions, scandal and racist ideology. The other is filled with career experts representing a diverse cross section of the American people. One is a clown show. The other is a proverbial steady hand. I see they’ve given their battleship a fresh wash ‘n wax. Which group should you trust to lead this nation? Only an idiot or a racist would choose the shit show that is about to play out in Milwaukee. If you want the truth about climate control, talk to a farmer, a fisherman or a scientist. Want the truth about abortion access, talk to a woman who wasn’t allowed to get one. Want the truth about immigration, invite an immigrant into your home. Want a bunch of lies, conspiracy theories and fear mongering, talk to almost anyone wearing a hat in downtown Milwaukee this coming week. The GOP has its collective head so far up its ass, they can see the backside of their tonsils. Good to see you’re still around to not take any guff, ladies. More, please. And now, our feature presentation... Cheers and Jeers for Monday, August 19, 2024 Note: [Due a particularly nasty subject-verb disagreement, today's note, which was about some sort of imminent Martian attack or other, is pouting in its trailer. We regret the inconvenience.] - By the Numbers: 4 days!!! Days 'til the Harris-Trump debate: 22 Days 'til the Bosque Chili & Music Fest in Albuquerque, New Mexico: 4 Estimated amount by which the Biden administration's drug price negotiations for Medicare recipients will cut health care costs in 2026: $7.5 billion Increase in retail sales in July: 1.0% Initial unemployment claims announced last week, lower than expected: 227,000 Portion of Americans who have worked at McDonald's, including VP Kamala Harris: 1-in-8 Year of the first Democratic National Convention: 1832 - Puppy Pic of the Day: But please, no wagering… - CHEERS to starting the week with a mighty thunderclap. Good morning. It is Monday. And since it's a day ending in y, that can only mean that Harris-Walz continues pounding on the flabby-brained blobs of goo and gack that make up the weird Trump-Vance ticket at point-blank range: Kamala Harris has stormed into contention in the fast-growing and diverse states of Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina, not long after Donald J. Trump had seemed on the verge of running away with those states. Ms. Harris is now leading Mr. Trump among likely voters in Arizona, 50 percent to 45 percent, and has even edged ahead of Mr. Trump in North Carolina—a state Mr. Trump won four years ago—while narrowing his lead significantly in Georgia and Nevada. Meanwhile, the flailing Trump campaign has added a new satanic consultant in the corporeal form of Corey Lewandowski. His mission: inject a fresh dose of racism, misogyny, fear and hate into the race, while fleecing the gullible rubes in the MAGA base and trying to not get caught doing more sexual harassment of campaign workers. And more balloons. He's definitely bringing in more balloons. CHEERS to Night 1. With the Biden-Harris swap-out over and the GOP shit show sealed in concrete and tossed over the side of a barge in the middle of the Milwaukee Municipal Sewage Overflow Basin, it's time to focus, people—[clap clap]—I said focus! Tonight's theme at the opening of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago—aka the City of That Giant, Strange Silver Lima Bean Probably Put There By Space Aliens—is: For the People While Donald Trump puts himself first, Democrats are fighting for the American people. President Biden has exemplified this through his leadership and legacy as a historic president who put the American people’s interest above his own. The accomplishments and results President Biden delivered for people, with Vice President Harris by his side, will be on full display during the convention, as will Kamala Harris’s commitment to fighting on behalf of everyday Americans. At its core, the Harris-Walz ticket is a ticket for the people. The lineup includes Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Michelle Obama, and President Biden. You can see the complete list of speakers here…eventually. Fearless prediction: when the former First Lady speaks this week, she won’t be plagiarizing anything of Melania Trump's. Or, y'know…anything of anybody's. JEERS to activist judges. 332 years ago this week, in 1692, four innocent men and an innocent woman were hanged on Gallows Hill for "practicing witchcraft" in Salem, Massachusetts. To this day Justice Alito is still outraged by what happened back then. He doesn’t think they were tortured nearly enough. - BRIEF SANITY BREAK - x The visionary art by Andrew Scott [📹 andrewscott_art]pic.twitter.com/1gZPcr1vdV — Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) August 16, 2024 - END BRIEF SANITY BREAK - CHEERS to Grrrl Power. 104 years ago this week, in 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution—giving women the right to vote—was ratified. That's right—you menfolk ratified the Constitution in 1788 and it only took you 132 years to get your asses off the couch and make this act of equality a reality. Now if you'll just takeout the garbage and fix the kitchen sink, you might get some nookie. CHEERS to soccer. Meanwhile, Ukraine continues what has become an all-out offensive against Russia’s Kursk region, taking prisoners by the hundreds and driving deep into Putin territory. How talented are Ukraine’s troops? Take a look... Excellent work, Corporal Ronaldoski. - Ten years ago in C&J: August 19, 2014 CHEERS to the rarest thing on Planet Earth besides common sense. Show me a liberal Republican in Washington in this day and age and I'll show you a field where rainbow unicorns roam. I can't even remember the last one—Senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island maybe??? Regardless, a liberal Republican (later an independent) from Vermont has died—Jim Jeffords was 80, and we on the left owe his memory big-time: Jeffords was a New England moderate who found himself out of step with his increasingly conservative colleagues when he rocked American politics on May 24, 2001, by announcing he was leaving President George W. Bush's Republican Party, tipping the divided Senate. He declared himself independent, but his decision to caucus with Democrats gave them 51 votes in the chamber that had been split 50-50, with Vice President Richard Cheney's tie-breaking vote putting Republicans in charge. For 18 months, Democratic control of the Senate kept the Bushies at bay, although we sure as hell didn’t act like mindless obstructionists the way the Republicans have with Obama. So fare thee well, Jim. In the book of American politics, you get a gold star. P.S. We also lost legendary SNL announcer Don Pardo yesterday. I'm going back to bed. - And just one more… CHEERS to people with the greatest first name on the planet. 42nd President Bill Clinton, who will speak at the convention tomorrow night, turns 78 today. Some Clintonian fun facts: ✓ Clinton is one of 8 left-handed presidents. With lefty predecessors Bush I and Reagan, America was led by southpaw presidents from 1981 to 2001. Buddy and Bubba. For all his flaws—and he has many—at least #42 has excellent taste in pets. ✓ In 1996, President Clinton became the first Democrat to be elected to a second term since Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1936. (16 years later Obama became the second.) ✓ He’s the only president who’s a Rhodes Scholar. ✓ Clinton was 16 when he shook hands with President John F. Kennedy in 1963, just four months before Kennedy’s death. Clinton later said he “muscled” his way through the line to meet JFK at the Boys Nation event. ✓ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech so impressed a teenaged Clinton that he memorized the entire speech right after it was given. In his negative column: DOMA, DADT, DLC, Monica, repeal of Glass-Steagall, NAFTA, and I hear he reed-synched his sax solo on Arsenio. In his plus column: charming, scary intelligent, beat Bush I, Dole, and Perot, humiliated Gingrich, made the economy hum, beat his McDonald's addiction, post-Oklahoma City bombing speech was empathy writ large, busy humanitarian, won the Bosnian campaign, tore Romney apart piece by robotic piece at the 2012 Charlotte Democratic convention, and these days is just laying low and enjoying retirement. On the whole: a president whose camels deserve blessing. Oh, almost forgot: regards to the missus. Have a tolerable Monday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today? - Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial “Bill in Portland Maine, why are you so weird? Man, why are you so creepy?” —Lucas Kunce - [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/8/19/2263631/-Cheers-and-Jeers-Monday?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/