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.“

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.

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’s slowing down. His Sunday school classes in Plains are behind him, and he won’t be hammering any more nails for Habitat for Humanity. But he’s still making his presence known through political endorsements and as a soon-to-be comic book hero. (See an excerpt from it here.)

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…

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Cheers and Jeers for Friday, October 1, 2021

Note: Because you were all so well-behaved during September, we have a special reward for you: no C&J will appear here Monday, giving you a well-deserved day off to frolic among the mums and luxuriate/exfoliate at your nearest pumpkin spice-scented day spa. Enjoy your time off, and we’ll see you back here Tuesday.  —Mgt.

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By the Numbers:

Days ’til World Animal Day: 3

Days ’til the Punkin Chunkin Festival in Thousand Islands-Seaway, New York: 15

Texans polled by Quinnipiac University who support indoor mask mandates: 64%

Percent who believe Governor Abbott is doing a good job dealing with the pandemic: 38%

Approval among New Jerseyites polled by Stockton University for Gov. Phil Murphy, versus 41% disapproval: 54%

Percent chance China is banning foreign spectators from the winter Olympic games, which start in February. because of Covid concerns: 100%

Number of letters in “blessing,” which is the term for a group of unicorns: 8

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Puppy Pic of the Day: Weekend plans…

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CHEERS to October. Busy month ahead! Autumn kicks into high gear for leaf-peepers, cider-lovers, flannel wearers, and Covid trackers. The Supreme Court, now including a woman who believes wives should submit to their husbands and Americans in general should submit to the laws of Invisible Sky Man, gavels itself into session. Pink ribbons proliferate for breast cancer awareness month. The Nobel Prizes will be doled out starting Monday, and this year I’m the favorite to win in the category  of “Just You For Being You.” Plus:

Barack and Michelle Obama celebrate their 29th anniversary Sunday. This month’s full moon (the 20th) is called a “Hunter’s Moon” because it’s in the shape of a laptop Ha Ha Ha Ha Topical Moon Humor!  Advocates for the right to keep and bare arms—lots and lots of arms—will celebrate World Octopus Day on the 8^th. It’s LGBT History Month and the 11th is “Coming Out Day.” Plus it’s also “ex-gay awareness month” during which we’ll all reflect on how there aren’t actually any ex-gays to be aware of. Columbus Day (the 11^th) becomes more of an unwanted relic as more states and communities replace it with Indigenous Peoples Day. And I’m predicting the right-wingers will boycott Halloween on the 31st because, of course, wearing masks is now worse than the holocaust. 

New movies include a new version of Dune, Daniel Craig’s long-delayed swan song as 007 in the 3-hour bladder buster No Time to Pee, and another entry in the Halloween franchise. (I keep telling Jamie Lee Curtis: if you want to finish off Michael Myers for good, you gotta haul out the wood chipper. But does she listen to me? Nooooo.)  And hovering over everything like a wet blanket is the fact that Congress is going to continue being Congress. Strap yourself in. Bumpy ride ahead.

CHEERS to today’s message from the Democratic Party Minister of Propaganda. Since there is no Democratic Party Minister of Propaganda, I decided this week to claim the title until such time that I am stabbed to death in the bathtub by the next person who wants to be the Democratic Party Minister of Propaganda more than me. Today’s update is great and glorious and to be believed, each and every word:

House progressives saved America last night by beating back an attempt by the forces of evil to derail the massive and spectacular Build Back Better Bill and its companion, the Build Back Even Betterer Bill. But what happened next will shock you!

President Biden—chosen by God to lead our great nation—single-handedly also saved America from oblivion by signing a big, beautiful document that prevented a government shutdown. Then, in a move no one saw coming, he destroyed a Republican effort to replace all of America‘s minorities with white men bused in from Russia. The victory fireworks display lasted four hours and his approval rating soared to 92 percent!

Finally, the Trump family has been cornered in their tower at Mar-A-Lago, where authorities will soon be taking them into custody for doing Nazi stuff.

Remember: Democrats are the party of freedom, patriotism, America, baseball, and very beautiful brains. Share this message with 1,000 people this weekend and you will be looked upon with pride and enthusiasm by your country. Donkey power huzzah!

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BRIEF SANITY BREAK

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END BRIEF SANITY BREAK

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CHEERS to portraits in contrast. Fifty-four years ago tomorrow, on Oct. 2nd, 1967, Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as the newest member of the Supreme Court—the first African-American elevated to the nation’s highest bench. He once said:

“Today’s Constitution is a realistic document of freedom only because of several corrective amendments. Those amendments speak to a sense of decency and fairness that I and other Blacks cherish.”

 Fifty-four years later there’s another African-American on the bench named Clarence Thomas.  He once said, “How did this pubic hair get on my Coke can, Ms. Hill? Ha ha ha.”  My god, it’s like they’re twins.

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.)  Chris Hayes, Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell kick things off as usual by unpacking the Friday news dumps tonight, including whatever happened today in Congress. Or you can catch the season premiere of Penn & Teller’s Fool Us at 8 on the CW.  At 11: the season premiere of The Graham Norton Show on BBC America with 007 Daniel Craig and other cast members from No Time to Die.

The most popular home videos, new and old, are all reviewed here at Rotten Tomatoes.  Sports: The WNBA semifinals schedule is here, the baseball lineup is here and the NFL schedule is here. (Bucs vs. Patriots—aka Brady vs. Belichick—will be the big event Sunday night.)  Also: SNL returns to 30 Rock this weekend to start its 47^th season with host Owen Wilson.

Sunday on 60 Minutes: a former employee of Facebook who turned whistleblower speaks out, and Tony Bennett’s final performance. Then Grampa falls victim to a phone scammer on The Simpsons, and Peter and the guys reminisce about encounters with three rock legends on Family Guy. Last but not least, John Oliver offers up a new edition of HBO’s Last Week Tonight Sunday night at 11.

Now here’s your Sunday morning lineup, such that it is:

Meet the Press: TBA

Face the Nation: Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ); Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV); former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb.

CNN’s State of the Union: Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA).

This Week: TBA

Fox GOP Talking Points Sunday: TBA

Happy viewing!

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Ten years ago in C&J: October 1, 2011

CHEERS to Schoolhouse Barack. President Obama gave his annual speech to America’s students this week. He told them to study hard, make decisions based on facts, think outside the box, share with others, and be nice to people. Or, as the conservative fringe calls it: tyranny.

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And just one more…

CHEERS to the skinny brown guy with the big ears and the funny name.  No, not Barack Obama. India‘s favorite son, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi would’ve been 152 tomorrow. He pretty much wrote the book on non-violent dissent which, closer to home, was adapted to great effect by Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Lewis, among others. In honor of his day, some timeless Gandhi wisdom:

“Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent then the one derived from fear of punishment.”

“Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man”

“The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

And this one, which seems especially relevant in light of the current Republican war on American democracy:

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it—always.”

I just wish they weren’t so good at getting back up. But, yeah, okay…point taken.

Have a great weekend. Floor’s open…What are you cheering and jeering about today?

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