Cheers and Jeers: Wednesday

[Brexiter]

“It is so important for Democrats to deliver.”

As Liz Cheney officially becomes a pariah in her party today, Liz Warren shows why she remains the north star of ours:

Sen. @ewarren explains the simple reason why Democrats need to overcome the filibuster and get things done: to keep their promises. pic.twitter.com/7eVDYrUB4N

— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) May 10, 2021

Continued...

"It is so important for Democrats to deliver. And I don’t just say that publicly—I say this over and over and over to the rest of the Democrats. We made a lot of promises to get here. We made a lot of promises to get Joe Biden elected; we made a lot of promises in Georgia to say, 'Hey Georgia, give us two more senators.' But part of that means we cannot now be in the majority—and I know it's a little tiny skinny majority, but it's a majority—and then turn around and say, 'Oh, there's a filibuster, so Mitch McConnell gets a veto over any dang thing we want to do.'

That is not how democracy works, and Democrats need to belly up to that reality. … We've got to deliver on the things that we promised the American people we would do—and deliver on things, by the way, that are popular!"

As all of us here at Daily Kos say every day: the public doesn’t give a rat’s ass how it gets done. They just want it done.

And now, our feature presentation...

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Cheers and Jeers for Wednesday, May 12, 2021

Note: The secret to effective humor is confidence!!! (I mean, it is, right?)

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By the Numbers:

19 days.

Days 'til Memorial Day: 19

Percent of U.S. adults polled by AP-NORC who approve of President Biden's overall job performance: 63%

Percent who approve of Biden's handling of the pandemic (including half of Republicans): 71%

Increase in the percent of college grads being hired immediately versus the class of 2020, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers: 7.2%

Percent of Maine's population that's totally vaccinated: 44%

Percent chance that Russian criminals are responsible for the hack of that east coast pipeline, according to the FBI: 100%

Age of Portland (Maine) High School as of this year: 200

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Mid-week Rapture Index: 187 (including 2 date settings and a floaty bubble-based transportation system in Heaven). Soul Protection Factor 24 lotion is recommended if you’ll be walking or floating amongst the heathen today.

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Puppy Pic of the Day: What's the optimal PSI for this guy, I wonder…

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CHEERS to blue state blues. Poor Republicans—like a dog who catches the car and then doesn’t know what to do with it, they got enough signatures to force an election to recall California Governor Gavin Newsom, but so far they're floundering:

The Los Angeles Times reports that a new UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll gives Newsom an approval rating of 52 percent, which bodes ill for efforts to oust him from office later this year. What's more, the poll found that just 36 percent of Californians would vote to recall Newsom, while 49 percent said they were opposed to the recall.

While none of the Republicans running for governor drew overwhelming support in the UC Berkeley poll, reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner fared particularly poorly.

And what of Sir Gavin? Glad you asked:

As the clock ticks down to California’s reopening from all COVID-19 restrictions on June 15 and with state coffers flush with a $75.7billion budget surplus, Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a $100 billion recovery plan which will include individual tax rebates of up to $1,100.

Just a hunch, but as long as he remembers to rake the forest floors I think he'll be okay.

WHATEVS to Food Fight Wednesday. Republicans will gather for lunch today. It’ll be very exciting. On the menu: soup, salad, hamberders, and Liz Cheney, bones and all:

When the House Republican Party moves against Liz Cheney, it will prove that it prefers to unite behind a lie rather than stay divided over truth.

I wonder how Darth Daddy feels about all this.

[T]he vote in the House Republican conference Wednesday may be the most fateful moment in awhile, since it will further cement the disdain for democracy in one of the nation's two great political parties. It will also show that for the House GOP, nothing—not even the protection of voters' rights to express their will in free elections—is more important than moving in lockstep with Trump.

And will dessert be served? I guess we’ll find out in 18 months.

JEERS to poor life choices. Sad news from the world of millionaires. According to official sources, the horse who "won" the Kentucky Derby was all hopped up on performance-enhancing substances during the race. (Their first clue presented itself when he crossed the finish line in 2.9 seconds.) You hate to see it:

Medina Spirit, the 2021 Kentucky Derby winner, failed a drug test after the race, putting his victory—and horse racing's integrity—in jeopardy.

And, in one fell swoop, permanently snuffed out his dream of one day working for NORAD.

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BRIEF SANITY BREAK

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Metal bending machine https://t.co/3s10tIzElC pic.twitter.com/JTcX8Q7fz6

— STEM ??? (@stem_feed) May 9, 2021

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END BRIEF SANITY BREAK

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CHEERS to today's episode of Man, That's Low Energy. President Biden's predecessor responded to getting banned from Twitter, Facebook, and You Tube by creating his own blog. Let's see how that's going. Via NBC News:

A week since the unveiling, social media data suggests things are not going well. The ex-president’s blog has drawn a considerably smaller audience than his once-powerful social media accounts, according to engagement data compiled with BuzzSumo, a social media analytics company.

Oh well. I’m told blogging’s just a fad anyway.

“In the case of Trump's new platform, it is so technologically primitive that there is no way for his followers to even migrate,” [Binghamton University assistant computer science professor Jeremy] Blackburn said. “Who cares about a platform where you can't even own the libs?

This has been today's episode of Man, That's Low Energy.

CHEERS to the "Mad" Father of Broadcasting. 113 years ago today, Wireless Broadcasting was patented (#887,357) by Kentucky farmer Nathan B. Stubblefield. It, and he, looked something like this:

They called the early years of radio "golden" for a reason. Limbaugh hadn't signed on yet.

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Ten years ago in C&J: May 12, 2011

BLEEP BLOOP! to a fresh plug-in for the Borg. Microsoft is buying Skype for what to them is pocket change. Oh well, it was fun while it…

[Buffering…Please wait] [Buffering…Please wait] [Buffering…Please wait]

[This program has encountered a fatal error and will now shut down]

…lasted.

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And just one more…

CHEERS to merry meetups. I'm grateful for many things in life. The top 5, in order: my partner Michael, ice cream, municipal drainage systems, the fez, and this week in 1969. That's when John Cleese and Graham Chapman (RIP) met Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones (RIP), and Michael Palin, and began plotting their collective assault on British stiff-upper lippyness, which debuted a few months later as Monty Python's Flying Circus. For your viewing pleasure, take your pick and give it a click:

Ministry of Silly Walks

The Dead Parrot Sketch

Upper Class Twit of the Year​

I’ve decided that my final word right before I die is going to be: “It’s…..”

And…Spam!

(Coincidentally, trademarked by Hormel on this date in 1937.)​

Later, in The Meaning of Life, they were positively prescient about the way the financial collapse of ‘08 would play out. P.S. "Ni!"

Have a happy humpday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?

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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial​

“The future of Cheers and Jeers is not going to be some 70-year-old Bill in Portland Maine talking at the rubber ducky in the kiddie pool and having all these sycophants come in and do the backstroke to get his approval.”

—Barbara Comstock

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