I woke up this morning thinking, "holy fucking shit." -- kos

[Coexist]

and a great Cheers and Jeers:

Cheers and Jeers: Inauguration Day
by Bill in Portland Maine

Tue Jan 20, 2009 at 05:03:32 AM PST

From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE...

For One Day

No cynicism
No anger
No rage
No rants
No fuming
No fighting
No teeth-grinding
No axe-grinding
No finger-pointing
No tut-tutting
No bitterness
No bloviating
No bickering
No bitching
No frustration
No pettiness
No worries
No quibbles
No quarrels
No squabbles
No seething
No snipping
No sniping
No whining
No wankery
No regrets
No fear
No hate
No agenda

Just celebration...

And jubilation...

And pride...

And hope...

And history so thick you can cut it with a knife...

And one word---originally spoken and repeated by John Adams to George Washington---that skips like a stone across 220 years of American history to echo on the steps of the Capitol at noon today with new significance:

"Finally! Finally!!"

For at least one day...

This one glorious day...

It's all good.

::
Cheers and Jeers for Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Note: It's reigning Dems! Hallelujah!

-

By the Numbers:
Days 'til Inauguration Day: 0!!!
Days `til Groundhog Day: 13
Number of miles the NASA rovers Spirit and Opportunity have traveled on the Martian surface since 2004: 13
Number of photos they've beamed to the Daytona Beach Photomat for processing: 250,000
Number of years they were expected to operate: 0.25
(Source: The Week)
Number of Maine car-moose collision fatalities in 2008: 0
(Source: Maine Sunday Telegram)
Percent of businesses expected to close for Inauguration Day: 5%
(Source: USA Today)

-

Inauguration Day Forecast:

Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of flurries and a 100% chance of tearduct showers. High 31.

Thank You.

With the almighty Flying Spaghetti Monster as my witness, we made it---gasping and wheezing and scuffed and scraped---to the finish line. And by "we" I mean C&Jers, the Kossack community at large, progressive blogs and think tanks, allies in Congress, liberal pundits...and Al Gore. Together we fought back against the Tom DeLays and Dennis Hasterts and Karl Roves and Rush Limbaughs and Dick Cheneys and their army of dishonest Orcs. And we got the last laugh.

Thank You.

I will never, ever forget how close---how frighteningly close---the Republicans came to stomping our faces into the sidewalk as they marched to become a "permanent majority." Watching it happen day after excruciating day as so many of our elected Democratic officials and lazy traditional-media journalists let it all slide. Wanting to set their pants on fire to get their attention. Wondering how many years they were going to "keep their powder dry." Knowing that certifiable insanity was being treated as serious governance. It was my vision of hell. And yours.

Thank You.

I started this column in December of '03 as a simpleminded way to mock the powerful by laughing at them...and, in so doing, possibly keep my brain from exploding. It was, and continues to be, one of the most sophomoric daily columns on the internets. But here we are half a decade later, relatively intact and looking out over a horizon that's brighter today than it was yesterday.

Thank You.

As Barack Obama says: "This is our moment. This is our time." Indeed it is. And what a thrill to be here to share not only this present moment of history with you, but the history from which we've just emerged (dark as it was) and the unknown history into which we're headed. There will only be one January 20, 2009. And even though we're scattered all across the globe, we're all in this together. Our moment. Our time. It's here.

Thank You...and Mega Cheers!

[rurallib]

1. Cheers to Bill in Portland Maine and his partner Michael

for all the smiles he has given us over the years.