Give good ol’ Franklin Roosevelt a thumbs-up today. It was on January 6, 1941 when Roosevelt delivered his famous “Four Freedoms” State of the Union speech. (You can read it and hear it here). While the oft-cited quartet—of speech, of religion, from want and from fear—is timeless, so too is this part of his address, which basically is the progressive playbook. Here’s what the dirty effing Hyde Park hippie bleated:
“The basic things expected by our people of their political and economic systems are simple. They are:
• Equality of opportunity for youth and for others.
• Jobs for those who can work.
Continued…
• Security for those who need it.
• The ending of special privilege for the few.
• The preservation of civil liberties for all.
• The enjoyment of the fruits of scientific progress in a wider and constantly rising standard of living.
January 6, 1941
These are the simple, the basic things that must never be lost sight of in the turmoil and unbelievable complexity of our modern world. The inner and abiding strength of our economic and political systems is dependent upon the degree to which they fulfill these expectations.
Many subjects connected with our social economy call for immediate improvement. As examples: We should bring more citizens under the coverage of old-age pensions and unemployment insurance. We should widen the opportunities for adequate medical care. We should plan a better system by which persons deserving or needing gainful employment may obtain it.”
FDR was right—simple and basic things based on decency, compassion and common sense to promote the public good. A helluva speech. I’m rather amazed Republicans didn’t try to impeach him over it.
Airline passengers who traveled Sunday in the United States, the highest number in a single day since the pandemic began: 1,327,289
Number of major corporate leaders who signed a letter urging Congress to certify Joe Biden’s election today without objection: 170
Number of the 10 living Secretaries of Defense, including Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, and Maine’s William Cohen, who signed an op-ed saying the election is over and a peaceful transition of power is imperative: 10
Percent chance that 2020 was the warmest year on record in Portland: 100%
Date of the airing of the final episode of Jeopardy! with Alex Trebek as host: 1/8/21
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Mid-weekRapture Index: 184 (including 3 climate events and 1 dark winter of immorality). Soul Protection Factor 24 lotion is recommended if you’ll be walking amongst the heathen today.
CHEERS to a pretty good night…I think. I’m not counting any chickens before they’re hatched—or should I say eating any peaches before they’re ripe—but it appears that Black Americans have once again pulled our republic’s hiney from the fire. If the tally continues as expected, Democrats just seized control of the Legislative Branch on the the wings of victory for these two:
Warnock, the senior pastor from Martin Luther King, Jr.’s church, is going to the Senate.
Again, if the numbers stick, psycho Kelly Loeffler loses. Mega-criminal David Perdue loses. Donald Trump loses (again). The red-hatted cultists lose. And, perhaps best of all, Mitch McConnell loses. I’ll pop the champagne cork when it’s official, but for now…hooooooly cow.
CHEERS to today’s Capitol Hill forecast. With the counting of the state-certified electoral college votes certain to go in Joe Biden’s favor—this whole thing is a mere formality, let’s not forget—there’s a 100% chance of Republican snowflakes feeding a conspiracy-theory cloud so dense and unstable that it’ll drop hail-Mary stones the size of sour grapes that’ll make a squishy sound when they collide with the tears streaming down the cheeks of the racist rabble in the streets, who will encounter a stationary front of order-maintainers sent in to lower the temperature:
The National Guard has been mobilized to Washington ahead of pro-Trump demonstrations planned this week as Congress convenes to certify the election results. The Guard will be used to help control crowds and manage traffic, the police chief said.
If Mike Pence fails to show up for fear of a mean Trump tweet, his fly is authorized to step in and count for him.
Mayor Muriel Bowser requested the Guard be activated and urged residents and others to stay safe and be cautious. “We’re asking D.C. residents and people who live in the region to avoid confrontations with anybody who’s looking for a fight,” Bowser said. “And the best way to do that is to avoid the area.”
High: yes, many of them will be.
CHEERS to the couple that keeps on keepin’ on. Congratulations to George and Martha Washington on their 262nd wedding anniversary:
On January 6, 1759, Washington, at age 26, married Martha Dandridge Custis, the 28-year-old widow of wealthy plantation owner Daniel Parke Custis.
To maintain their privacy, George and Martha only communicated via early Cone of Silence technology.
The marriage took place at Martha’s estate; she was intelligent, gracious, and experienced in managing a planter’s estate, and the couple created a happy marriage. … They moved to Mount Vernon, near Alexandria, where he took up life as a planter of tobacco and wheat and emerged as a political figure.
But don’t bother sending ’em a gift…they haven’t spoken in years.
CHEERS (or else) to our robot overlords. Despite the covid pandemic, the annual CES technology convention is still a go, because it can easily be pulled off virtually with…technology! Leading the innovations this year: advanced robots, personal assistants, and innovations springing up in response to the pandemic…
The global pandemic affected a number of tech sectors, rapidly accelerating the adoption of at-home gym equipment, networking technology (think mesh routers), voice-enabled door locks, and more. […]
Other types of smart home devices that relate to environmental health should also be trending at CES and through the rest of 2021. Smart air purifiers, water filtration systems and UV disinfecting lights will be in abundance, as companies look to fill demand. “People are paying a lot more attention to their personal health and wellness, and the health and wellness environment of their home,” Koenig said. […]
If she goes Fzzzzzzt! in the middle of her song, we’ll know they’ve invented robot Billie Eilish.
Robots have taken on increased importance as ways to both automate processes and maintain social distancing. In hospitals, robots are being used to take patients’ temperatures and vital signs as they come in and triage them accordingly, as well as disinfect rooms using UV lights.
Not meaning to brag, but I’ve finally broken out of my old ways to embrace technology. For example, I have a landline phone now that, when you push the numbers on it in the right order, can play Mary Had A Little Lamb, providing hours of entertainment for all my friends. But I probably won’t show them my calculator that spells out “BOOBIES” when you punch in 5318008 and turn it upside down. My feeling is, let’s get used to the musical phone first so we don’t risk spooking them. (They still think indoor plumbing is sorcery.)
When a female is ready to lay her eggs, she seeks out a tarantula and injects it with paralyzing venom.
Welcome to New Mexico!
She drags the tarantula to a burrow and stuffs it down the hole, then lays her eggs on top of the paralyzed spider. Several days later the eggs hatch and the larvae feed on the still living tarantula.
Also: not many people know that the state maintains an army of giant tarantula hawk wasps in an underground bunker in Roswell. And also not many people know that therein lies the reason for the state’s official motto: “What New Mexico Wants, New Mexico Gets.”
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Ten years ago in C&J: January 6, 2011
JEERS to the dust bunny. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) says he really, really wants to stay in dusty old Afghanistan 4-EVUH. Oh, no, wait, that’s not entirely correct: he wants thousands of your sons and daughters to stay in Afghanistan 4-EVUH. Lindsey will be safe and warm and protected in his bachelor flats in D.C. or Dixie. But he promises to visit y’all once or twice a year and slop creamed corn on your mess trays. And we all get to pay for it. Yaaaay! Deficits don’t matter anymore…again!
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And just one more…
CHEERS and JEERS to the speech spankers. Right on schedule, Lake Superior State University’s annual “banished word list” popped up on the scene to give the cable news anchors a “kicker” story over which to hone their phony-chuckling skills. Sure, we’re happy to see terms like “in these uncertain times” “unprecedented,” and “Karen” on the list. But C&J—thin-skinned as we are—will never shake the bitterness that infused our lives on that dark day in 2005 when they went off the linguistic deep end and tried to banish…us!
BLOG – and its variations, including blogger, blogged, blogging, blogosphere. Many who nominated it were unsure of the meaning. Sounds like something your mother would slap you for saying
Just a fad. For 19 years and counting.
“Sounds like a Viking’s drink that’s better than grog, or a technique to kill a frog.” Teri Vaughn, Anaheim, Calif.
“Maybe it’s something that would be stuck in my toilet.” – Adrian Whittaker, Dundalk, Ontario.
“I think the words ‘journal’ and ‘diary’ need to come back.” – T. J. Allen, Shreveport, La.
So, for the sixteenth year in a row (and until they apologize for being such meanies), C&J humbly keeps these four words on its own banished list: Lake Superior State University.
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
“I don’t know why Bill in Portland Maine wants the Cheers and Jeers kiddie pool job. He doesn’t want to do the splashing.”
