(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Cheers and Jeers: Thursday [1] [] Date: 2023-11-30 "The True Father of our National Literature" That's how H.L. Mencken described the force of nature that was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, aka Mark Twain. If ever there was a person whose bullshit detector went to 11, it was him. Also in his corner: anti-slavery, pro-women's rights, clear-eyed about religion, and a supporter of labor unions. Damn funny, too. His zingers are endless. Here's a few on this, his 188th birthday… “Patriot: the person who can holler the loudest without knowing what he is hollering about.” “One of the most striking differences between a cat and a lie is that a cat has only nine lives.” ”If we would learn what the human race is at bottom, we need only observe it at election times.” Continued... More Twain... “Man was made at the end of a week’s work when God was tired.” “If animals could speak, the dog would be a blundering outspoken fellow; but the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much.” - “The political and commercial morals of the United States are not merely food for laughter, they are an entire banquet.” “All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure.” “A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining and wants it back the minute it begins to rain.” “Fleas can be taught nearly anything that a Congressman can.” “Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company.” Pay your respects here. And then donate a few copies of Huck Finn to your local library…just to piss off the book ban-mad MAGA cult. And now, our feature presentation... - Cheers and Jeers for Thursday, November 30, 2023 Note: Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I won’t be able to post C&J again until next month. And that’s my cue to start laughing uncontrollably at my cleverness, hoo boy, I tell ya, that’s a good one. Next month ha ha milk snort. - Saturday! By the Numbers: Days 'til winter: 21 Days 'til the Frothbite Beer & Bites Fest in La Crosse, Wisconsin: 2 Sales on Black Friday: $9.8 billion Year-over-year increase in new home sales as of October: 17.7% Number of passenger screenings at airports last Sunday, the busiest day ever for air travel in the US: 2,894,304 Percent by which anti-Semitic incidents are up in Germany: 320% Rank of Marjorie Taylor Greene's new memoir “MTG” on Amazon’s best-seller list: 11,809 - Your Thursday Molly Ivins Moment: Quite a few people have been mishearing the Lord lately. The Rev. Pat Robertson thinks the Lord told the people of Dover, Pa., they shouldn't ask for His help anymore because they elected a school board Robertson doesn't like. And Rep. Richard Baker of Louisiana said right after Hurricane Katrina that "we finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God did it." I kind of doubt Katrina was designed by the Lord as a form of urban renewal. I think it's a big mistake for us to go around putting our own puny interpretations on stuff that happens and then claiming the Lord meant thus-and-such by it. It is my humble opinion that some folks should do a lot more listening to God and a lot less talking for Him. —December, 2005 - Puppy Pic of the Day: Wagons ho… - JEERS to more hot air. The "COP 28" climate conference gets underway today in—what a freaking joke—oil-soaked Dubai. And it's getting off to exactly the kind of start you'd expect: On the bright side, this year they managed to agree on the shape of the conference table before the summit started. Several media outlets, including CNN, this week published stories based on a cache of leaked documents obtained by the UK-registered Centre for Climate Reporting, which appeared to be briefing notes for [COP28 president-designate Sultan] AlJaber for meetings with foreign officials in the run-up to the summit. AlJaber also runs the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). […] Several of the documents detailed suggestions to offer new oil and gas projects to visiting officials, which would benefit the UAE. […] Al Jaber, his office and the UAE have come under widespread criticism, particularly from Western media and civil society groups, for appointing its top oil executive to preside over the talks. Someone should remind Captain Crude that COP 28 doesn't stand for "Catapult Oil Profits by 28 Percent." Then again, we're kinda getting used to palm trees growing up here in Maine. (The coconut butter does wonders for the skin.) CHEERS to crossing the finish line (with just a few gobs of seaweed up our nose). Southerners and East Coasters rejoice! After going through nearly the entire alphabetic roster of names, as of 5pm today your 2023 Atlantic hurricane season officially ends. Here's the National Weather Service's 2023 "spaghetti map" charting what turned out to be a fairly average season. You’ll notice that my supreme powers as one of “the gays” kept the calamities away from Maine: Meanwhile, the NOAA 2024 hurricane season forecast comes out next May. But other than blizzards, ice storms, tornadoes, nor'easters, mudslides, droughts and Republicans roaming the halls of Congress, we're in the clear. Great job, everyone. Check’s in the mail. CHEERS to another joyous noel at The People's House. First Lady Jill Biden unveiled the White House holiday decorations last week, and the work done by her and her 100 volunteers from all 50 states are quite a contrast to the four years of darkness and dystopia thrown together by the previous president's demon-eyed mate, aka Mrs. "who gives a f*ck about the Christmas decorations." Wanna see? Huh huh huh? Ya wanna? The White House tree in the Blue Room, which of course was named after President Blue. The tree “celebrates cheerful scenes, landscapes, and neighborhoods from all across the country, with names of every state, territory, and the District of Columbia, showcased throughout the decor.” Meanwhile, the tree at Mar-A-Lago will be festooned with the Trump family's favorite states: chaos, carnage, confusion, delusion, rage, laziness, and denial. - BRIEF SANITY BREAK - x Restoring a cast iron pan from 1850 pic.twitter.com/v2ierRIjGF — Oddly Satisfying (@O_Satisfying) November 19, 2023 - END BRIEF SANITY BREAK - CHEERS to bulldogs with brains. Happy 149th birthday to Sir Winston Churchill. For all his faults (the racism alone was off the charts), ya gotta admit: he kicked ass against the Crazy Corporal and Il Duce and remains one of history’s most steadfast crisis managers. Pretty clear-headed about war, too. Vladimir Dumbshit should’ve listened... "Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events." Pay your respects here. And marvel at how some people can smoke like a chimney, drink like a fish, and eat like a hog...and still live to be 91. Neat trick. JEERS to the perpetual shroud of darkness. Like literal clockwork, here in Maine it gets ominously dark now by 3:45 in the afternoon. Which means that, for the next three months, we're trusting you to let us know if Armageddon breaks out for real. (I’ve got my Hello Kitty luggage full of underwear and emergency rations I ordered from Jim Bakker’s Slop Bucket Emporium waiting by the door.) But please: no practical-joke false alarms. My home is armed with the most destructive device to humans ever invented: a Tesla with autopilot. - Ten years ago in C&J: November 30, 2013 CHEERS to notoriety. The biggest news to come out of the pushing of the "nuclear option" button by Senate Democrats—besides the pushing part, which was excellent—was the blast of notoriety for Daily Kos's own champion of filibuster reform, David Waldman (aka KagroX), who got a write-up by CNN: He had to convince a diverse group of advocates that climate change, immigration, the judiciary, and the economy all had one thing in common: The filibuster blocked their legislative goals. "Getting them to recognize outside their issue silo there's this one issue frustrating all of you" was key to success, Waldman said. That's when Fix the Senate Coalition formed. The Sierra Club joined on. So did the NAACP and the Communications Workers of America, just to name a few. … "I might be destroying the Senate," Waldman said on his radio program Thursday just before Reid pulled the trigger. But he quickly dismissed that assessment: "But it kind of sucks now." True Fact: If a Kossack is caught breaking a branch of the federal government, a warning will be issued. Two branches equals a 2-week suspension. And if you fuck up all three: to bed without supper. - And just one more… CHEERS (because it's important) and JEERS (because it's still necessary) to World AIDS Day. We’re not posting until late tomorrow, so we’ll mention this today: this year marks 42 years since the first published scientific account of the virus that would decimate the gay community and spread to the straight community with equal viciousness. Today more than 39 million people around the world live with HIV or full-blown AIDS. A minimum of 36 million have died from it. UNAIDS says the 35th anniversary of World AIDS Day brings with it a polite-but-urgent request for governments to let communities do the deciding, says executive director Winnie Byanyima: “Communities across the world have shown that they are ready, willing and able to lead the way. But they need the barriers obstructing their work to be pulled down, and they need to be properly resourced,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “Too often, communities are treated by decision-makers as problems to be managed, instead of being recognised and supported as leaders. Communities are not in the way, they light the way to the end of AIDS.” ​Lest we forget, this asshole took years to even acknowledge that HIV/AIDS existed. Rot in hell, Gipper. Community advocacy from the streets to the courtrooms to parliaments has secured groundbreaking changes in policy. Communities’ campaigning helped open up access to generic HIV medicines, leading to sharp, sustained reductions in the cost of treatment from US$ 25 000 per person per year in 1995 to less than US$ 70 in many countries most affected by HIV today. [...] Despite the clear evidence of community-led impact, community-led responses are unrecognized, under-resourced and in some places even under attack. Crackdowns on civil society and on the human rights of marginalized communities are obstructing communities from providing HIV prevention and treatment services. Underfunding of community-led initiatives is leaving them struggling to continue operating and holding them back from expansion. If these obstacles are removed, community-led organizations can add even greater impetus to end AIDS. By the way, the last time the 54-ton AIDS quilt could be displayed in its entirety was 1996, and if laid out today it would cover more than 1,293,300 square feet. Not coincidentally, tomorrow is also Give A Virus The Finger Day. Knock yerself out. Have a nice Thursday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today? - Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial "I’ve got too much to think about than to clutter my mind up with Cheers and Jeers." —Dolly Parton - [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/30/2208529/-Cheers-and-Jeers-Thursday?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&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/