The Weekly Rewind

It’s Friday @ TBWA (actually, it’s Friday in most of the Northern Hemisphere, but you know what I mean)… who can tell me what than means??? You, no you, the one with the hat… in Las Vegas… can you tell me what Friday means on TBWA?

…

Anyone?

It’s time for the weekly rewind of course…

The end of the week after Thanksgiving… Hanukah, Christmas, Kwanza and Boxing Day are all approaching… smart money would be on the fact that things sort of get quiet and start winding down for the remainder of 2005. But this year, in the words of Homer Simpson: “Anything’s possible with Commander Cuckoo-Bananas in charge.”

So sit back, turn on a little Sinatra, (how does Mrs. Sinatra feel about that? [rimshot]) and take it all in…

Applaud: to me for finding this quote from Adlai Stevenson online last night: “If the Republicans will stop telling lies about the Democrats, we will stop telling the truth about them.” Even bigger applaud to Mr. Stevenson for saying it all those years ago.

Heckle: to ‘old’ wars becoming ‘new’ news. According to government documents that were recently declassified, U.S. intelligence officials distorted evidence of an attack on two U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1964 in order to support claims of communist aggression. This directly led to a massive escalation of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.

Applaud: to the good news of job growth in the count— wait a minute… son of a—. It turns out the Bush‘Whacked’ Administration is spinning the results. Well then, we have to call this one a HECKLE, don’t we?

Heckle: to the Pentagon and the Lincoln Group for their 'paid' articles in the Iraqi press. It seems the U.S. military paid money to Iraqi press outlets (all you broadcasting and journalism students out there – of which I was for about 1 semester – don’t aim for network news or newspapers in the states… aim for “Iraqi Action News”,“Good Morning Falujah” or “The Baghdad Sun-Times” – that’s where the REAL money is)

Applaud: to the news that Representative “Duke” Cunningham (R-CA) resigned from office after admitting he broke the law by (and I know this will be hard to believe about a Republican) taking bribes… I am shocked and appalled.

Heckle: to Bill O’Reilly. Does anyone really need a specific reason to heckle this little SOB? I didn’t think so.

Heckle: to Bill O’Reilly part 2. He released his “enemies” list this past week… had 3 names on it…. Wow, that must have strained his colossal creativity.

Applaud: to President Bush… (I know, I know, it goes against EVERYTHING this site stands for) for signing into law Thursday a bill directing that a statue of Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks be erected in the Capital’s Statuary Hall.

Heckle: to this website linked HERE. I don’t even know where to begin…

Applaud: to the state of Texas (I know, it even looks weird as I write it) for calling “Commander Cuckoo-Bananas” in for Jury Duty. But…

Heckle: to the White House, who said that the President wouldn’t serve on jury duty on Monday as scheduled because he has “other commitments.” (Unlike the millions of other U.S. citizens who are called for jury duty on a daily basis… they don’t have any commitments in their life. I know he’s the “President”, but if he can take off as much vacation time as he does, then he can serve on jury duty when he’s originally scheduled)

Applaud: to Arlen Specter (R-PA), who has decided to not move forward with his call for investigation into the NFL’s handling of the Terrell Owens’ suspension. Seems like he either gained intelligence (unlikely) or someone smacked him upside the head with a 2 x 4 and told him he’s being an idiot (more likely)

Heckle: to the White House, which on Thursday called those Democrats who said that the President lacked a clear strategy for victory in Iraq as being "deeply irresponsible". (Let's see, we have been there since 2003, have lost over 2,000 troops, and in the President's speech on Wednesday he admitted mistakes, and outlined goals....hmmm, nope didn't hear a clear strategy for victory in Iraq.... so I guess that would make us at TBWA irresponsible as well )

Heckle: to SCOTUS nominee Samuel ‘Sc’Alito. He “assured” Sen. Specter this past week that his personal views on abortion will NOT be a factor in his rulings. (Yeah, like we’re supposed to take his word for it… whatever)

Applaud/Heckle: this has to be counted as both. It’s a ‘Heckle’ for Illinois Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka (who would lose in a Beauty Contest against Rep. Jean Schmidt of Ohio – if you can believe that) officially announced she is seeking the Republican nomination for Illinois Governor, saying she is the only one capable to “take out” Democratic incumbent Rod Blagojevich. It’s an ‘Applaud’ because she is known as the person who single-handedly killed the GOP in Illinois (remember Alan Keyes’ IL senate run…heh heh heh, I do) and is thus a VERY polarizing figure in the party.

And one final item to mention (though we at TBWA aren’t sure if it should be an applaud or a heckle, so make that decision on your own): check out these new action sets from Playmobil. They include: airport security checkpoint, getaway car, safe crackers set, and construction workers with porta-potty…imagine the possibilities.

They seem to be evening out a little… cause for optimism? One can only hope.

That’s it for this week’s rewind… ‘Remember, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars’… no wait, sorry, that’s Casey Kasem’s sign-off.

How about, ‘good night and good luck’… no, that’s Edward R. Murrow…

Uh, ‘Goodnight America, wherever you are’… no, that’s Midnight Caller’s… ah, now I remember:

Only time will tell…