(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Cheers and Jeers: Monday [1] ['Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags', 'Showtags Popular_Tags'] Date: 2023-04-03 ❦ On the fate of the debt ceiling, you're evenly split: 41 percent believe it will be raised despite the best efforts of the MAGA-controlled House's chaos agents, while 43 percent don't. ❦ Another even split: 42 percent of you support the House Freedom Caucus bill that would require putting guard rails around the edge of the Earth to reduce the number of falling-off-the-planet accidents. 43 percent say no, now is not the time. Rest assured: all of our C&J polling data is carefully archived, placed under lock and key, and then securely tossed onto the sidewalk in front of our house. ❦ 90 percent of you support the FTC's proposal to make it illegal for employers to force non-compete agreements on departing workers, while nullifying existing ones. ❦ Of the three finalists for the 2024 Democratic National Convention, an overwhelming 51 percent choose Atlanta, while 34 percent opt for Chicago and only 16 percent prefer New York City. ❦ The popularity of shaking up the order of the early Democratic primary states isn't in question. 80 percent approve of starting with South Carolina, followed by New Hampshire, Nevada, Georgia, and Michigan. Only four percent disapprove. ❦ Only 29 percent of you had "Watch Republicans cave in real time to President Biden on preserving Social Security and Medicare" on your State of the Union bingo card. ❦ And 75 percent of you avoided the cold or flu during the winter. Great job! As always, we bow to your superior ability to have opinions on stuff. And now, our feature presentation... - Cheers and Jeers for Monday, April 3, 2023 Note: If your Monday is not 100% satisfactory, we'll happily replace it with a Wednesday for a small restocking fee of as many dollars as you can stuff into this pillowcase at gunpoint. Remember: at Billy Mart, your satisfaction is our #65 priority. —Mgt. - By the Numbers: 5 days!!! Days 'til voting ends in the Wisconsin state Supreme Court election: 1 Days 'til Brew Woo in Worcester, Massachusetts: 5 Increase in personal income in February: 0.3% Initial unemployment claims announced last week, still the lowest since 1970: 198,000 Percent of Americans polled by Pew Research who believe the government should and should not, respectively, ban TikTok in the U.S.: 50%, 22% Percent of those age 18-29 who believe it should and should not be banned: 29%, 46% Age of You're So Vain, Superstition, and Crocodile Rock as of this year: 50 - Puppy Pic of the Day: Breakfast is served… - CHEERS and JEERS to April. Wikipedia tells me that "The traditional etymology is from the verb aperire, 'to open,' in allusion to its being the season when trees and flowers begin to open." But the modern etymology is from the verb “Gimme that,” in allusion to its being the season when MAGA cultists continue complaining about the federal government while simultaneously threatening another insurrection if they don’t get their government benefits checks on time and in full." Get busy. And this year throw in extra lard. And what a packed month it is. The Biden administration will continue deftly juggling the challenges facing our country with one hand while juggling the egos of our international friends and foes with the other. Major league baseball gets into high gear. (Red Sox are gonna win it all again this year, as they have for the last hundred.) It's Poetry Month, Summer Tire Changeover Month, and Jazz Appreciation Month. Passover starts Wednesday and ends on the 13th. Donald Trump turns himself in to the proper authorities tomorrow for booking, fingerprinting, and a hosedown...making 4/4 the greatest date in April history. But wait, there’s more! Like a full "pink moon" on the 6th, Easter (the 9th), Earth Day, Patriots Day, Arbor Day, National 8-Track Tape Day, and Administrative Professionals Day. But the movie roster looks meh. As a special treat, your taxes are not due on the 15th—the IRS deadline is the 18th, thus making April slightly less cruel than usual. You take your victories where you can get ‘em. CHEERS to order in the courts. As for what's happening this week on our pale blue dot, the usual: The House and Senate are off gallivanting for two weeks of Easter fun in the sun, Ukraine continues meat-grindering Putin's mighty army of drunk prison convicts, Israel continues playing footsies with the notion of becoming the kind of empire they escaped (vowing: "Never again") in 1945, and here at home judges' gavels are being polished and shined for imminent use against self-immolation-prone MAGA turds: Dominion vs. Fox News: [T]he court essentially found that Dominion proved every element of defamation, and shot down every Fox defense, save one, actual malice. The court found that one question presents material facts in dispute. That is the only argument Fox may avail itself of at trial. Busy week for Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg. Manhattan D.A. vs. Donald Trump: On Tuesday "… there will be a mugshot, and fingerprinting, and a mandatory DNA cheek-swabbing. There will be an appearance before a judge, and a not-guilty plea—likely in open court. He'll be treated largely like any defendant." Tennessee vs. Women's Clothing: A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked Tennessee's first-in-the-nation law placing strict limits on drag shows just hours before it was set to go into effect, siding with a group that filed a lawsuit claiming the statute violates the First Amendment. […] U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker…wrote that the state has failed to make a compelling argument as to why Tennessee needed the new law, adding that the court also agrees the statute is likely vague and overly broad. And this bit of law 'n order news just in: a Nazi who firebombed an Ohio church hosting a drag queen story hour was arrested by the feds and faces 30 years in prison. I hope as they were slapping the cuffs on they sieged Heil! [Thpppt!] Heil! [Thpppt!] right in his Nazi face. CHEERS to deliverin' the goods. On April 3, 1948, Harry Truman signed The Marshall Plan, which gave $5 billion (and, later, another $7 billion) in aid to sixteen European countries so they could rebuild in the wake of World War II. The result: Marshall Plan aid allowed the nations of Western Europe to relax austerity measures and rationing, reducing discontent and bringing political stability. "Okay, boys, the ink's dry. Now let's go save Europe so Republicans will have something to try and destroy in 70 years." The communist influence on Western Europe was greatly reduced, and throughout the region communist parties faded in popularity in the years after the Marshall Plan. Lest we forget, the U.S. government under the previous president, with Russian backing, tried to weaken Europe by increasing discontent and fomenting political instability. And Great Britain continues embracing austerity measures and rationing, thanks to its disastrous attempt, with Russian backing, to weaken Europe by "Brexiting" from the EU. That's what I find most fascinating about history: the not learning from it part. - BRIEF SANITY BREAK - - END BRIEF SANITY BREAK - CHEERS to—squeaky squeak!—that clean plate sound. 134 years ago this week, in 1889, the first dish washing machine was marketed in Chicago. We have one in our house—a rescue mutt named Haley. Upside: she saves us a bundle on electricity. Downside: poops way more than a Kenmore. CHEERS to hoops hopes. After a wild March of ups and downs and smiles and frowns—not to mention a road littered with busted brackets (damn you, Iowa, for your upset win over South Carolina), we can finally say congrats to the LSU Tigers, the NCAA women's basketball champs (over the Iowa Hawkeyes 102-85). Tonight the less popular men's division wraps up the Madness d' March with a board-stompin' dustup between San Diego State and UConn. My head says Go Huskies, but my gut's cheerin' the other guys because God came to me in a dream and, as I was levitating in a swirl of mystic fog, told me to put all my chips on the Aztecs. Hey, don't laugh...we agnostics take these things very seriously. - Ten years ago in C&J: April 3, 2013 JEERS to more Blam! Blam! Blam! Yesterday the gun makers' smokescreen, the NRA, unveiled its plan for making schools safer from gun violence. Their plan is to put one of these in every school in America: As usual, Wayne LaPierre didn’t bother to issue a paper version of the report. He just machine-gunned the text onto the side of a barn. - And just one more… CHEERS to nighttime sparklies. Now I know why our moon and all the planets and stars in the galaxy practice safe social distancing from us: we're crazy!!! But that can't stop the universe's most obnoxious parasites—that would be us—from gazing up and marveling at all the conquering we have yet to do. The elves at NASA always let us in on the big celestial events for the month, and here’s a look at April’s sky-watching tips, including Mercury getting high and a meteor shower first noticed in 200 B.C.: - And don’t forget to go outside, think of Neil Armstrong, and wink at the full moon on Thursday. It's the law. Have a tolerable Monday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today? - Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial From the little peek we got, Cheers and Jeers looks like it has all the lovely hallmarks of a Bill in Portland Maine blog post, plus a kiddie pool! —Ted Bajer - [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/3/2161369/-Cheers-and-Jeers-Monday 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/