The Weekly Rewind

It’s that time again… The. Weekly. Rewind… but before we begin, some changes are coming here at TBWA… a new look and… well, really that’s it… but isn’t that exciting enough???

Well... it is for Scott and I…

So in the next few days you can expect to see some changes here, but we’ll still be doing our thing, that will never change…

You may all read in awe… or mass indifference… whichever you prefer.

Applaud: to knowing how to make our point. Liberal leftwing blogs are more likely to use profanity than conservative rightwing blogs by a ratio of 18 to one. To that I say, effin’ a!!!

Heckle: to porous reasoning. Vice President Dick “Dick” Cheney said earlier this week that a “too-soon withdrawal” from Iraq could make the war in Afghanistan worse. (Actually, what I think could make that war worse is pulling troops out of there to escalate the war in Iraq, but that’s neither here nor there. The real reason for this heckle is the fear campaign that this administration is waging once again… give it up Dick. It hasn’t worked in the past; I doubt it will work now…)

Applaud: to the jury at the Scooter Libby trial, who are expectd to deliberate into next week, as they’re progressing in the trial and getting the weekend off… they’ve asked the judge for a plethora of office supplies which they’ve received, but were denied a dictionary. So far, save for one, they’ve all done what they had been instructed to do, let’s hope it continues and in the end someone from this administration is sent to jail… at least until Bush pardons them at the end of his term… which can NOT come soon enough.

Heckle: to censorship. According to an article in the Army Times, soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Medical Hold Unit say they have been told that they must not speak to the media. Soldiers said an official told them that “they must follow their chain of command when asking for help with their medical evaluation paperwork, or when they spot mold, mice or other problems in their quarters.”Army Military reporter James Crawley says yesterday’s Army Times revelation “that Walter Reed patients had been barred from speaking with reporters is not the first case of tightened restrictions. In recent months, he says several MRE members have reported similar crackdowns. What’s worse, many of the denials are apparently in reaction to the potential negativity of a planned story.”

Applaud: to (finally!) trying to get something done in Iraq. House Democratic leaders have (finally!) agreed to legislation that would require troops to come home from Iraq within six months if the country’s leaders don’t help reduce violence there. “The plan would retain a Democratic proposal prohibiting the deployment to Iraq of troops with insufficient rest or training or who already have served there for more than a year. Under the plan, such troops could only be sent to Iraq if President Bush waives those standards and reports to Congress each time.”

Heckle: to the fact that close to “90% of National Guard units in the US are rated “not ready” because of escalation issues, budget costs and supply shortfalls and are jeopardizing their ability to respond to crises at home and abroad… but this administration is all about keeping us as a nation safe… yes Virgina, I am being sarcastic…

Applaud: to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) for this quote: “You can’t catch a socially transmitted disease by sitting down with people who hold ideas that are different than yours.” (very well said Governor… very well said… I don’t know what’s more surprising; that I’m applauding Gov. Schwarzenegger or saying that he said something well?)

Heckle: to really bad intel. For five years, the Bush(whacked) Administration has pointed fingers at North Korea and accused them of developing enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb, straining tensions with a country that we should not be straining relationships with. We cut off aid to the country and they responded by throwing out international inspectors, building up their plutonium arsenal and producing a nuke. Now comes word that the administration is admitting (albeit very, very VERY quietly) that its intelligence may have been faulty… (Allow me to give my shocked face at this bit of news… One has to think, had the U.S. not so loudly accused them of enriching uranium, would they have become so hell-bent on creating a Nuke? One (with a brain) would have to think the answer would be ‘no.’ Kim Jong Ill is crazy… but he’s not mad)

Applaud: that the number of female politicians around the world is currently at 17%, which is an increase of 6 percentage points in the last decade. (I perceive this as good news, though my brother would say; ‘Someone didn’t show-up for work today…’ Emails can be sent to…)

Heckle: to the media. When Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says “We have seen over 3,000 lives of the bravest young Americans wasted,” we get a media firestorm… when republican presidential candidate John McCain says “We've wasted a lot of our most precious treasure, which is American lives,” we get nothing… we get crickets chirping and tumbleweeds tumbling down the street. Here’s some advice. YOU, the media, does not pick the president, the American people do. Why don’t you report on both parties with equality and let US decide… fuckin’ media idiots…

Applaud: to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) who said earlier this week that he would support legislation by Sen. James Webb (D-VA) that would bar a “U.S. attack on Iran” unless Congress gave “President” Bush a green light. (As has become a common saying on this site; I’ll believe it when I see it…)

Heckle: to more moronic quotes from White House spokesman Tony “Job of” Snow. Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (New motto: We Hate Everyone) Snow said that the Bush Administration “didn't create the war in Iraq.” (and Tony will admit to smoking crack when?)

Applaud: to Ambassador Tim Carney, one of the U.S. coordinators for Iraq’s reconstruction, was interviewed on NPR earlier this week. During the interview, he said that the post-war decision to exclude Iraqis from governing the country was “incompetent, foolish, dubious in all of its aspects.” (Nice… always happy to see people tell the truth about the incompetent handling of the war and its aftermath. It should also be known that the White House shipped out Carney to Baghdad recently so they could avoid his testimony before a congressional committee and not be able to give interviews … oops, guess the administration forgot that in this day and age, interviews don’t have to be done on-site…)

<Heckle: to “President” Bush and his budget cuts. Despite 84% supporting the expansion of the Childrens’ Health Insurance Program so it covers all uninsured children, Bush has proposed cutting funding for the program. Add to that the fact that 56% of Americans think the federal government has a responsibility to provide health care for all… (And yet… nothing is happening. He talked big about it during the SOTU, but since then – nothing. Smoke and mirrors only work if you’re good at it George…and you and your administration are NOT good at it)

Applaud: to the administration being proven wrong… again. Earlier this week, U.S. officials displayed bombmaking parts that were said to have been transported by Iran into Iraq. The problem was the cache of arms included boxes that appeared to contain shipments of tubes that came directly from factories in the Middle East and, well, none of them in Iran… (That has to be like, what, strike 22 for proving Iran is behind the insurgency in Iraq?? Give it up guys… ya ain’t gonna be able to tie them together…)

Heckle: to, once again, “President” Bush. This one is for stating his intention to veto a “broad counterterrorism bill” that would implement many of the remaining recommendations of the 9/11 commission. (The man is a tool. Do you want to know why he wants to veto it? Because the legislation would extend union protection to 45,000 federal airport screeners… and heaven knows we can’t have that…)

Applaud: to the House for passing, with a vote of 241-185, the Employee Free Choice Act, thus making it easier for workers to organize while at the same time establishing stronger penalties for employers who intimidate workers. A similar bill will be intro’d in the Senate by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) within the next few weeks. (republicans must hate this Act since it will make it easier to create their horror of horrors… unions)

And finally… a recap of this week’s happenings regarding the 2008 Presidential race… African-Americans are starting to swing to Obama, Clinton forgot to include a family-charity on Senate disclosure forms… Edwards is learning that you don’t always speak the truth on the stump… Edwards is unsure about public money should he win the nom…and Vilsack is still bitter about having to drop out. On the republican side Romney smeared Giuliani on “The 700 Club” (Yeah, but HE was on 700 Club)… Giuliani reaffirms his core beliefs (and yes, they are conservative beliefs)… Romney’s campaign tries to cover-up a leaked strategy memo… Huckabee is still trying to showcase himself as a real candidate (Good luck)… ditto for Hunter… and McCain officially announced his candidacy while still pandering to anyone who will listen.

Take ‘em as you will...