(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Cheers and Jeers: Rum and Coke FRIDAY! [1] [] Date: 2023-09-29 99 Orbits Around the Blue Marble Send Jimmy a birthday greeting here at the Carter Center. Taking a moment from fixating on the endless challenges facing the 46th president to say "Happy Birthday" (Sunday) to our 39th. If you don’t count George Washington's fake choppers, Jimmy Carter—who turns a sprightly 99 Sunday—owns the most famous set of presidential teeth in history. That Jimmy grin and the sense of optimism that went with it was what the country wanted and needed after the Republicans’ Watergate mess. Although his one term isn't considered a rousing success, he kept us out of war, focused our attention on energy policy, protected huge amounts of land, was at the helm during the creation of eight million jobs, brokered peace between Israel and Egypt, and brought honesty and integrity back to the White House. Continued... But before all that—he hates to brag, so I will—he was a U.S. Navy officer so courageous that he "was physically lowered into a damaged nuclear reactor in Chalk River, Ontario, Canada, and exposed to levels of radiation unthinkable today after an accident." Jimmy and his bud Willie Carter's post-presidency is where he really shines (like leading the charge to eradicate guinea worm disease in Africa) and he warrants every accolade we can throw Daily Kos member 81380's way. His motto at the Carter Center says it all: "Waging Peace, Fighting Disease, Building Hope." Done…done…and done. And kudos for throwing jabs at the right-wing freak show, as he did in his speech during the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington in 2013: "I believe we all know how Dr. King would have reacted to the new ID requirements to exclude certain voters, especially African-Americans. I think we all know how Dr. King would have reacted to the Supreme Court striking down a crucial part of the Voters' Rights Act, just recently passed overwhelmingly by Congress. President Carter, 1979 I think we all know how Dr. King would have reacted to unemployment among African-Americans being almost twice the rate of white people and for teenagers at 42 percent. I think we all know how Dr. King would have reacted to our country being awash in guns and for more and more states passing "stand your ground" laws. I think we know how Dr. King would have reacted to people of the District of Columbia still not having full citizenship rights. And I think we all know how Dr. King would have reacted to having more than 835,000 African-American men in prison—five times as many as when I left office—and with one-third of all African-American males being destined to be in prison in their lifetimes." After a superhuman lifetime of service, Jimmy is preparing to let go. His Sunday school classes in Plains are behind him, and he won’t be hammering any more nails for Habitat for Humanity. He’s now foregoing the proverbial “heroic measures,” medically speaking, and is letting nature take its course. The guy has courage in his veins. What more can we say? Happy birthday, Jimmy. In the pantheon of Most Excellent American Role Models, you stand so tall you don’t even need a pedestal. And now, our feature presentation... - Cheers and Jeers for Friday, September 29, 2023 Note: Someone stole the streamers off of Ron DeSantis’s tricycle handlebars in Tallahassee. If you see them, let his campaign manager know. They’re bright pink (but not gay pink, you godless woke person) and encrusted with dried pudding. Many thanks. Have a python-not-squeezing-you-to-death weekend! - By the Numbers: 8 days!!! Days 'til election day 2023: 39 Days 'til the 50th annual Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico: 8 Ratio of Americans polled by Monmouth University who say Republicans and Democrats in Congress, respectively, will be responsible for a government shutdown: 2:1 Portion of Ohioans polled by FM3 Research who say they plan to support a marijuana legalization question (Issue 2) on the ballot in November: 3-in-5 Amount and number of plants, respectively, that would be allowed under the new law, if passed: 2.5 oz. / 6 plants Estimated current price of the 1-ounce gold bars now being sold at Costco online: $1,876 Age of Ivory Soap as of this year: 143 - Puppy Pic of the Day: Weekend rush… - CHEERS to the end of our national nightmare. They said it could never be done. Voter apathy and political gridlock would be too hard to overcome, they said. Some claimed it was "too late." Others insisted it was "too soon." But despite the moral, social, legal, and ethical headwinds, two senators with nerves of steel and hearts whose colors don’t run got down to business and hammered, hammered, hammered away until the country's honor was restored as the envy of the 21st century world: The US Senate has passed a resolution formalizing business attire as the proper dress code for the floor of the chamber by unanimous consent. […] Relax, Senator Collins. Manchin and Romney say this is still OK. The bipartisan bill from Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney requires that members abide by a real dress code---rather than an unwritten custom---when on the Senate floor, that includes a coat, tie, and slacks for men. The resolution doesn’t specify what is deemed as business attire for women on the Senate floor. Senators Ron Johnson, Mike Lee, and Rand Paul received a special exemption, and will be allowed to continue wearing their Order of Lenin boxer shorts over their trousers. JEERS to the start of our new national nightmare. Enjoy the last few hours of government operation, because at the stroke of midnight tomorrow the doors close, the locks go click, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy goes golfing, and once again the country's honor devolves into the laughingstock of the 21st century world. To clarify the situation and what it means, here's a summary of the press coverage: Blah blah blah both sides are responsible…blah blah blah why isn’t Joe Biden doing anything about it?...blah blah blah this is a great opportunity for Donald Trump…blah blah blah oh that's right, Biden is too old to do anything about it…Andrea Mitchell is confused, but pretty sure this is all the Democrats' fault…[pop-up ad]…[another pop-up ad]…[more pop-up ads]…that's all I can muster because the goddamn pop-up ads are covering my screen six-deep…[Slams laptop shut] Please note that, due to the shutdown, the faces on Mount Rushmore have been put in storage and replaced with cardboard cutouts. If the shutdown persists, the cardboard cutouts will be put in storage and replaced with four coconuts, said a cardboard cutout of a Park Service spokesman moments before he was replaced with a coconut by his cardboard cutout supervisor. CHEERS to one of the great troublemakers. Lech Walesa, electrician, founder of the anti-Communist Solidarity Union, President of Poland, and Nobel Peace Prize winner turns 80 today. Happy 80th, Lech. My memory of his most rebellious time—the late 70s and early 80s—is kinda grainy, but I do remember how I felt back then, living in then-West Germany as I was and occasionally visiting East Berlin as part of a school or family trip, and feeling the oppressiveness of the Russian influence over everything. So when I saw what Walesa was doing, I felt like, Wow, that is one gutsy electrician. Despite his anti-abortion views, whenever I hear his name, that's still what I think—one gutsy electrician. In his honor, today: no light bulb-changing jokes. - BRIEF SANITY BREAK - - END BRIEF SANITY BREAK - CHEERS to the day John McCain realized he'd made a terrible, awful, horrible, no-good mistake. Who can forget September 30, 2008, when Katie Couric tossed the softest of softballs to vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who whiffed once…twice…and three times she's out: Katie Couric: And when it comes to establishing your world view, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this—to stay informed and to understand the world? “Oh, gosh, Katie. Gosh gosh gosh...” Sarah Palin: I’ve read most of them again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media... Couric: But what ones specifically? I’m curious. Palin: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years… Couric: Can you name any of them? Palin: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news. The freaky part? Subscriptions to I Have A Vast Variety Of Sources Where We Get Our News Digest tripled overnight. CHEERS to home vegetation. It's gettin' cold out—time to huddle around the warmth of the cathode-ray tube. (If you haven't got a cathode-ray tube, a half a cathode-ray tube will do. If you haven't got half a cathode-ray tube then God bless you.) Busy night tonight! Chris Hayes and the MSNBC crew kick things off as usual by unpacking the Friday news dumps, or you can catch the season premiere of Shark Tank (Now with zero percent more sharks!) on ABC. The 36th annual Hispanic Heritage Awards air tonight at 9 ET on PBS. Oh, and the Miss America Pageant returns to network TV (The CW) at 8. As usual, my money’s on the contestant who juggles chainsaws while playing the cello. Sunday night: John Oliver and Mr. Nutter Butter return! The most popular movies and streamers are all reviewed here at Rotten Tomatoes. The Major League Baseball schedule is here. (Go Red Sox!) And if you’re interested in golf (I lost interest when Saudi Arabian murderers got involved) the Ryder Cup is airing afternoons on NBC. Sunday on 60 Minutes: the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried. On the season premiere of The Simpsons, Homer becomes a school crossing guard who soon wields too much power, while the premiere of Family Guy has Meg becoming a surrogate for a gay couple. And then hip-hip hooray! With the writers’ strike over, John Oliver offers up a new edition of HBO's Last Week Tonight Sunday night at 11. Now here's your Sunday morning lineup: Meet the Press: TBA Also: cocktail weenies reveal the inside scoop on the hottest D.C. parties. Face the Nation: Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper; economist Diane Swonk; Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Brian Fitzpatrick (The Cult-PA); and OF COURSE they have to haul in a MAGA cultist senator (Lindsey Effing Graham) to talk about the career of Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein. This Week: TBA CNN's State of the Union: Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI); Scumbag Rep. Matt Gaetz (The Cult-FL) on the latest exciting new advancements in sex trafficking. Fox MAGA Cult Sunday: Reps. Byron Donalds (The Cult-FL), French Hill (The Cult-AR); former Gov. Nikki Haley (The Cult-SC); Sen. Joe Manchin (Himself-WV). Happy viewing! - Ten years ago in C&J: September 29, 2013 JEERS to homegrown extremism. You don’t need to detonate bombs or fly planes into buildings to terrorize a nation for the sake of ideological purity. In this country, D.C. Republicans are acting like terrorists as they scare the piss out of We The People with their blind willingness to tear our economy down if they don’t get Obamacare to go away. It used to be heresy to suggest something like that. But when Portland's prim and proper newspaper the Maine Sunday Telegram frames it that way, it gives you pause: The Affordable Care Act was a major issue in the last election, and had the Republicans won the White House and a majority of the Senate, it would probably have been repealed by now. But that's not what happened. Now they are holding the economy hostage while they try to achieve through undemocratic means what they failed to do with the ballot. They should not be allowed to win. The U.S. government should not negotiate with terrorists, even when the terrorists are in the U.S. government. There's only one place where the tea party caucus deserves to show their faces these days: tacked to the wall in your local post office. - And just one more… CHEERS to Self-evident Truths—Part 301 in our 33,975-part series. There's simply no argument on this one: When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore. Look it up! And tonight you're really gonna get an eyeful. Yes, it's a rare "Super Duper Jazz-Hands Harvest Corn Moon,” and we hope you're prepared to reap the lunar rays: The full Moon that happens nearest the fall equinox always takes on the name “Harvest Moon.” Unlike other full Moons, this full Moon rises at nearly the same time—around sunset—for several evenings in a row, giving farmers several extra evenings of moonlight and allowing them to finish their harvests before the frosts of fall arrive. [Wink!] While September’s full Moon is usually known as the Harvest Moon, if October’s full Moon happens to occur closer to the equinox than September’s, it takes on the name “Harvest Moon” instead. In this case, September’s full Moon is referred to as the Corn Moon. This time of year—late summer into early fall—corresponds with the time of harvesting corn in much of the northern United States. Usual full-moon drill: if skies are clear, get yer butt out in the back yard, look up, think of Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins (Buzz Aldrin, thankfully, is still with us), along with all of our departed space pioneers, and give ‘em a wink. (Or, if you’re a werewolf, an “Arooooooooo!!!”) Have a great weekend. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today? - [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/29/2195913/-Cheers-and-Jeers-Rum-and-Coke-FRIDAY 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/