The Weekly Rewind

It’s Friday… and since my esteemed colleague and friend Scott is on vacation this week, I’m taking over this week’s Rewind.

So… without any further ado… let’s do this thing!!

Applaud: to the fact that the GOP is losing its edge in the fundraising arena… meaning that a lot of GOP incumbents are losing the money race with their Democraic opponents. As I said earlier this week, maybe conservatives will someday learn that money isn’t everything and they may have to do good things for people in order to get re-eelcted.

Uber-Heckle: to a Louisiana school bus driver who ordered nine African-American students to move to the back of the bus to the back of the bus because the driver had designated the front seats for white children. (Pathetic… absolutely pathetic. This driver needs to not only lose her job and be sued, but she should also be hit upside the head with a very thick stick…)

Applaud: to the Christian Coalition of America for LOSING a handful of state affiliates. The organization (formed in 1989 by religious tool Pat Robertson, and formerly run by failed-politician Ralph Reed) has seen its power and standing in DC weakened in the last couple of years has now been faced with three more disgruntled state ffiliates severing ties with the group. Nice… couldn’t have happened to a more-deserving group…

Heckle: to what could quite possibly be the dumbest thing to come out of the mouth of George W. Bush (and that’s really saying something.). While speaking about the war in Iraq, he used the “unseen-progress argument” in favor of the contention that “things could be even worse”… (brilliant… that makes everyone feel better now ya schmuck…)

Applaud: to the FDA for, after a delay of three years mind you, approving over-the-counter access to the Plan B emergency contraceptive. I think it’s a good thing, and I also think that limiting access to women ages 18 and older is a good thing. That sound you’re about to hear is the collective popping of conservative’s heads…

Heckle: to the federal government’s wasting of hundreds of millions of (taxpayer) dollars by awarding 70% of its contracts for Hurricane Katrina work without any competition whatsoever… at least that’s what a new report from the House Committee on Government Reform’s minority office says and, you know, based on this administration’s handling of everything Katrina-related, I have to take the committee’s word on it…

Applaud: to France for announcing plans to commit troops to a new international peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon. That’s great that they’re finally getting involved, but then you read that, while France helped initiate the Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire, they initially faced criticism because President Chirac said they would send just 200 troops… which then makes you have a Simpsons flashback to the episode where Groundskeeper Willie calls them “Cheese-eating surrender monkeys’”… God bless ‘The Simpsons’…

Heckle: to the asinine and inane White House PR stunt this week that featured a Katrina survivor from NOLA lauding “President” Bush and thanking him and the administration for the ‘good job’ they did in reponse to Katrina.

Applaud: to a House Intelligence Committee report that’s trying to warn the Bush Administration that the U.S. has “significant gaps” in its Iran intelligenc. The reports goes on to say that this could possibly as serious, if not more serious, as the shortcomings in its prewar knowledge regarding Iraq. Wow, that just leaves you with a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling, doesn’t it? This evidently means that Washington is, at best, ill-prepared to assess the military capabilities of Iran. (Brilliant… apparently we don’t know enough about Iran’s nuclear weapons program to plan any sort of action, or reaction, properly… I have just got to get back to work on that bomb shelter…()

Heckle: to political lip service. Senator (and 2008 Presidential hopeful?) John McCain (R-AZ), who in the past had defended the war in Iraq, has changed horses and is faulting the Bush Administration for misleading the American people. (As I said earlier this week in ‘Random Thoughts’, we at TBWA have always liked Sen. McCain. Having said that, we still see this sudden change of heart as nothing more than an election-year ploy aimed at garnering some anti-war votes)

Applaud: to states that are ignoring the droning of conservatives that Global Warming is a myth and making their own changes. California (who recently introduced legislation aimed at cutting carbon dioxide emissions) and Colorado are leading the fight on global warming. Now… if only the federal government could see the light… we’d be doing good…

Heckle: to the pot calling the kettle black. The RNC is attacking Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas and accusing him of using “hate-filled” rhetoric. (Wow… I don’t think the definition of “Irony” could define itself better than that statement right there…)

Applaud: to the fun that is the Katherine Harris for Senate campaign. Oh, that wacky Kathy…

Heckle: to the bubble that’s about to pop… the housing bubble that it.

Applaud: to shifts in beliefs. Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT) has reversed his stance on the Iraq War and is now calling for the administration to set a time frame for U.S. troop withdrawals. Slowly, but surely, everyone is starting to see the war for the disaster it is… wonder who’s next?

Heckle: to weak arguments. An AP article earlier this week blamed Bush's back-slapping idiocy and informality on the fact that "he's from Texas.” Ok… we’ll ignore the fact that Bush is actually a Yankee and was born in Connecticut but instead focus on this argument; who cares? I don’t care if he’s from Hooterville, he’s still the leader of the U.S. and he should try and show a little decorum…

Heckle: to Pat Buchanan, who states in his new book (coming soon to the $1 rack near you) that Mexico is actively plotting illegal immigration into the U.S. as a strategy of re-conquest of American territories that were once under its control. (Mommy… make the crazy man go away…)

Applaud: to Newsweek columnist Michael Hirsh for his column this week that shows Dubya’s “failure to understand his foes.” Give it a read, it’s pretty insightful…

Heckle: to what could be the weakest ‘Liberals will lose in the future’ argument I have ever heard. Wall Street Journalist columnist Arthur Brooks wrote earlier this week that “Liberal politics will prove fruitless as long as Liberals refuse to multiply.” So let me get this straight… Liberals won’t be able to stay in power for any length in time and won’t be able to make any significant gains against conservatives because not enough Liberals are having kids???? What the hell is Mr. Brooks smokin’???

Heckle: to the inane news about Pluto not being an “official” planet anymore... and to the fact that every damn news outlet used some sort of inane Disney/Mickey Mouse/Goofy reference in their headlines... Please stop the world; I want to get off now...

Rather long Rewind this week, isn’t it… with an almost fair and balanced amount of Applauds and Heckles...

Oh well, take ‘em as you will.