(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Cheers and Jeers: Tuesday [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-10-29 As We Launch Into the Final Sprint... With The Most Critical Election In Our Planet's History just one week away, it's important to stay up to date on the races happening not only nationally, but in your corner of the world, too. So we're posting this joyful reminder that the mighty Daily Kos Elections Team ("The Best in the Business") has gone rogue and formed their own dedicated site for all things ballot-related: [O]ur relentless focus on downballot elections—those thousands of races below the presidency—has helped elevate these critical but often-overlooked contests, leading to crucial victories. We've published data used in every corner of the political world, established special elections as an indispensable analytic tool, and even literally put candidates on the map. We couldn't be prouder of the work we’ve done. […] If you've ever had the privilege of seeing the team during their appearances at Netroots Nation conventions, you know David Nir and his crew are all walking encyclopedias of down-ballot knowledge. So it's a no-brainer to add them to your favorites list and consult them frequently as we head into the home stretch of the 2024 cycle. You can also help them keep the lights on at their new site by becoming a one-time or recurring subscriber by clicking here. [C]ountless people have come to rely on our work analyzing and elevating downballot elections, including journalists, activists, political professionals, academics, and enthusiasts. As more than one person has told us, we've become a public utility—a key piece of infrastructure in the political ecosystem. And we'd really like to stay public. That means we do not want to put up a paywall—and, at least at the start, we won't. … So we're asking folks to contribute to our cause the same way you might to NPR or PBS—or Daily Kos itself. We've preached the mantra of donors getting the best bang for their buck for years. Well, we can guarantee that your contributions will be put to extremely good use, without a single wasted penny. You'll find The Downballot site here and their social media links here. We also highly recommend their daily email elections updates. If knowledge is power, these guys are Thor and Wonder Woman combined. Thanks for lending them your eyeballs and, if you're so inclined, your subscription. And now, our feature presentation... Cheers and Jeers for Tuesday, October 29, 2024 Note: Today is Cranky Co-workers Day. Or as the 50 monkeys with typewriters in my employ call it: Tuesday. - By the Numbers: 3 days!!! Weeks 'til voting ends: 1 Days 'til the Sitka Whalefest in Alaska: 3 Number of Michiganders who showed up for the first day of early voting: 145,000 Decrease in profits last month among large Chinese companies: 27% Time it took Ethiopian runner Yomif Kejelcha to break the men's half-marathon (13.1 miles) record by one second Sunday: 57 minutes, 30 seconds Age of Grateful Dead co-founder/bassist Phil Lesh when he died last week: 84 Number of "zombies" ranging in age from 12 to 70 who took part in the 12th annual reenactment of Michael Jackson's Thriller in Portland Maine's Monument Square Friday night, a local record: 170 - Puppy Pic of the Day: Beware the leaf creeper… - JEERS to the 2024 vote. What a mess this has been. Unlike anything I can remember. Very ugly. Chaos, confusion, uncertainty. Insults hurled back and forth. Numbers that don’t seem to make sense. Politicians who say they may refuse to accept the results. A divided public. Worried allies. Roiling financial markets. Both-sides-ing media. And a feeling that time is simply running out. But enough about Japan's elections. Anyone know how ours are going? CHEERS and JEERS to how our elections are going. With Trump's Madison Square Garden rally now in the rear-view mirror of Stephen Miller's panzer, tonight Vice President Kamala Harris takes her campaign to Washington D.C.'s Ellipse, the site where Trump kicked off his attempted coup on January 6, 2021. Gonna be big, with attendance estimates now hovering around 20,000 patriots: Harris will argue it's time to turn the page on Trump and choose a new way forward, the official said. The address will contrast what a Harris term in office would like compared with another Trump presidency. The event at the Ellipse, outside the White House, is timed for exactly one week before Election Day. The Harris campaign official said the campaign plans to contrast Trump's worst moment in office with what the official called Harris' optimistic vision for the future. Relative to Trump’s rally 4 years ago, the biggest winners at tonight's rally will be democracy, civility, and joy. Biggest losers: noose vendors. CHEERS to the fed-up female. On October 29, 1966, the National Organization for Women (NOW) held its first conference and adopted its original Statement of Purpose in Washington D.C. That purpose: to help reduce the extent to which men are allowed to act like pigs... We, men and women who hereby constitute ourselves as the National Organization for Women, believe that the time has come for a new movement toward true equality for all women in America, and toward a fully equal partnership of the sexes, as part of the world-wide revolution of human rights now taking place within and beyond our national borders. 58 years later, still going strong. The purpose of NOW is to take action to bring women into full participation in the mainstream of American society now, exercising all the privileges and responsibilities thereof in truly equal partnership with men. We believe the time has come to move beyond the abstract argument, discussion and symposia over the status and special nature of women which has raged in America in recent years; the time has come to confront, with concrete action, the conditions that now prevent women from enjoying the equality of opportunity and freedom of choice which is their right, as individual Americans, and as human beings. Today NOW is “the largest organization of feminist grassroots activists in the United States” with “actions and positions on the issues that are principled, uncompromising and often ahead of their time.” We completely agree. But as usual, ladies, today I'm still gonna open the door for ya. - BRIEF SANITY BREAK - x Native Americans have served this country in every major conflict. And today, members of Native nations still serve in uniform at the highest rates of any population. To my fellow veterans: Thank you for your service. pic.twitter.com/1jkhz4qefr — Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) October 26, 2024 - END BRIEF SANITY BREAK - CHEERS to the most trusted name in news (well, besides Cronkite and Maddow). 113 years ago today, Joseph Pulitzer died at 64 aboard his yacht in Charleston, South Carolina, thus ending the life of the "yellow journalism" publisher who was dedicated to looking out for the little guy (if loudly and sensationalistically): Previously the press usually spoke for the moneyed interests, but this new strain of journalism supported labor, attacked trusts and monopolies, and exposed scandal, fraud and corruption, both public and private. Seems like a good design for my Poolitzer Prize. At a time when journalism was not considered a respectable way of earning a living, Pulitzer was committed to raising the standards of the profession. Today the best and the brightest in journalism are celebrated with the coveted "Pulitzer," which comes in a lovely velvet-lined display case. When I depart this earth I plan to leave behind a foundation that will recognize the most dimwitted and dishonest. I'm calling it the "Poolitzer" and it'll come in a lovely doggie-doo bag. The inaugural Poolitzer ceremony will make history. It'll be the first time the world ever hears the words, "And the winner is: Fox News." CHEERS to "the good news no one is talking about this election season." Those are the words of William Becker at The Hill, and he's right: while the twin mega-hurricanes sparked some talk of climate change, there's been virtually no mention of green energy in debates, speeches, or interviews. So let's take a moment to remind ourselves that when Democrats are in power, renewables thrive: [T]hanks to the Biden administration and the Inflation Reduction Act, clean energy is putting down deep roots in the economy. … [Energy secretary Jennifer] Granholm delivered the latest news last week on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” exchanging quips with host Michael Kosta while dishing out some impressive numbers: ☼ The Department of Energy has 17 national laboratories and 40,000 scientists working on America’s energy future. Granholm calls it “the solutions department.” Isn’t a cleaner planet worth a little windmill-noise cancer? ☼ This year, clean-energy technologies will generate pollution-free electricity equivalent to 30 Hoover Dams. ☼ Since President Biden took office, 4 million electric vehicles have been added to the nation’s fleet. They now make up 10 percent of the vehicle market. Nearly 200,000 publicly available vehicle charging stations have been deployed, with 1,000 more added weekly. ☼ Air conditioners save lives during heat waves but contribute to climate change when fossil fuels generate their electricity. Now, heat pumps are outselling conventional cooling and heating systems in America. They can reduce energy use by 50 percent or more. ☼ There are now 900 manufacturing plants in America’s clean energy industries. Sixty percent are located in Republican-led states and congressional districts. The Department of Energy is funding some of them in coal communities. And a week from today, to the planet's relief, one of the biggest sources of noxious gases will finally be turned off: namely, Trump rallies. - Ten years ago in C&J: October 29, 2014 CHEERS to gettin' outta Dodge. Guess what you won’t find anymore in Helmand Province in Afghanistan? American troops, that's what. As part of our drawdown, they've officially skedaddled with honor, leaving the Afghan army to fight their own spitting matches with the Taliban from the 1,600-acre military base we built in '08. This is part of the redeployment that will remove all but 10,000 troops (admittedly, a not-insignificant number) from the country by year's end. Among the items left behind at Camp Leatherneck: light vehicles, leftover tater-tots in the freezer, and a farewell note: "So long and thanks for all the rubble." - And just one more… JEERS to Day 1. Sticking this little item down here in the basement where it belongs. Four years ago this week, after Mitch McConnell allowed her nomination to be voted on just days before an election—a violation of his own so called “rule” that derailed Merrick Garland in early 2016—Trump cultist Amy Coney Barrett was sworn in as an Associate Supreme Court Justice of the United States. And, girrrrl, did she get down to work fast. If you recall, this is what transpired on her first day: Drowned her first kitten…kicked her first clerk with the shoe that's got the hidden spring-loaded spike in it…poured hot coffee over Stephen Breyer's head, insisting that one day they'd both have a good laugh about it…bit the head off of not one but two bats because "this cockadoodie job really makes me hungry"…declared stare decisis "too funny sounding" and banned it from all further discussion…outlawed voting in the blue states…told the story of how there were two sets of footprints in the sand but then there was only one set of footprints because that was when she carried Jesus because Antifa had just shot a tranquilizer dart at his neck...called her hairdresser to tell him she couldn't wait to annul his marriage to his husband and could he fit her in Friday morning for a trim and light color treatment…replaced Justice Sotomayor's insulin with Folger's Crystals… ...and then she was home in time to fix hubbie a cocktail and light his pipe before cooking dinner and putting the kids to bed after reading them a chapter from Dante's Inferno. And everyone in the beltway media gazed at her and wondered with slack-jawed wonder: how does she do it??? Have a tolerable Tuesday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today? - Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial “Now, I want to explain that in politics a good rule of thumb is: don’t say you want to do anything like Bill in Portland Maine." —Barack Obama - [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/10/29/2280012/-Cheers-and-Jeers-Tuesday?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/