The Weekly Rewind

I’m back from a nice soothing vacation in Las Vegas. I would tell you all about it but what happens in Vegas… well you know the rest…

Let’s get on with this week’s edition of (patent pending) “The Weekly Rewind.”

Here. We. Go.

Applaud: to the families and friends of those affected by this week’s attacks at Virginia Tech. And while we’re at it, our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to those affected by the Oklahoma City bombing, which occurred 12 years ago yesterday, and the Columbine attacks, which happened eight years ago today. Stay strong…

Heckle: to the Bush(whacked) Administration. Apparently, they keep records of anyone who has ever been prescribed anti-depressants. From ABC News, regarding the VA Tech shooter: “Some news accounts have suggested that Cho had a history of antidepressant use, but senior federal officials tell ABC News that they can find no record of such medication in the government's files. This does not completely rule out prescription drug use, including samples from a physician, drugs obtained through illegal Internet sources, or a gap in the federal database, but the sources say theirs is a reasonably complete search.” (Excuse me? We don't even have a list of gun owners in this country, but we seemingly have a list of every single person who has ever been prescribed anti-depressants…this is troubling…)

Applaud: to a majority of Americans who do NOT consider withdrawal from Iraq as “surrender.” According to a Fox “News” poll (I know, I would have though they would have altered it to fit their opinion also) that asked “Do you think it is accurate to compare withdrawal with surrender?” 61% said no, it’s not the same… so take that!

Heckle: to the prospect of a 3 mile long concrete wall being constructed in Baghdad. Yes… a wall… a wall designed to “cut off one of the capital’s most restive Sunni Arab districts from the Shiite Muslim neighborhoods” that surround it. Never mind that Iraqi’s have raised concerns about how this will enhance the “further Balkanization of Iraq’s most populous and violent city.” (Nice… cuz that idea worked oh-so-well in Germany…)

Applaud: to telling it like it is. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) suggested to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales during his testimony on Capitol Hill that “the best way to put this behind us is your resignation.” Gonzales naturally disagreed, but one has to think that Coburn is absolutely correct and curious as to just how much longer Gonzales can hold on to this job…

Heckle: to the “masked-senator” who has placed an “anonymous hold” on legislation that’s moving through the Senate requiring lawmakers’ campaign finance reports to be electronically filed and thus, made public more quickly. (Nice… nothing like blocking progress. Odds are 3:1 that the ‘anonymous moron’ is Ted Stevens, a republican from Alaska)

Applaud: to the Trials of Alberto Gonzales. At times he struggled to offer a coherent explanation while appearing frustrated, weary and at times combative, all while angering committee members “as he invoked a faulty memory more than 50 times.” Add to that this nice piece of information: 63% of Americans think Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is lying about the Bush(whacked) administration’s prosecutor purge… (It’s things like this that give me some hope that common sense is making a comeback in this country… though our commander in chief was “pleased” with Gonzales’ testimony… give me strength…)

Heckle: to the White House Correspondents Association dinner palnners. Just when you think they couldn’t get any more pathetic by hiring non-insutling Rich “Haven’t Been Popular in Over 20 Years” Little to headline (and thus giving “President” Bush and his administration a pass) they go out and make it more pathetic by inviting American Idol reject Sanjaya Malakar… (If the entire audience is asleep 10 minutes into the show, I’ll be surprised…)

Applaud: to the news that two republican lawmakers found themselves being raided by the Feds this past week for, how should I put this? “Shady dealings.” Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) had his house raided earlier this week due to his and his wife’s connections to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff (Another good thing was that because of that he is temporarily stepping down from his position on the House Appropriations Committee) Add to that the fact the FBI raided a business tied to the family of Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ) Thursday afternoon as part of an ongoing investigation. (Like Doolittle, Renzi is temporarily stepping down from a committee seat, giving up his spot on the House Intelligence Committee (Don’t you think that after a while they would realize they’re gonna get caught and stop?? Though it does make for some good theater…)

Heckle: to Senate conservatives who, earlier this week, “blocked legislation” that would have allowed the federal government to negotiate Medicare drug prices. (Never mind the fact that 85% of Americans support such negotiations, it’s the right thing to do. Too bad the conservatives in the Senate can’t grasp that concept…)

Applaud: to even more cracks in the conservative foundation. In what can only be described as another signal of just how much republican unease there is with the president’s Iraq policies, another gop senator (that would make three) gave support for pulling U.S. forces out of Iraq under certain conditions. This time is was Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) who announced that she would sponsor a bill that would require American commanders to plan a withdrawal within 120 days of the bill’s enactment, unless the Iraqi government met a few goals. (Seeing republican/gop support for not only this war but also for Bush’s policies erode is rather enjoyable, so let’s keep it up)

Heckle: to the news that, for the 11th straight week, the national average price for gasoline in the U.S. rose. (What more can be said?)

Applaud: to The House for passing the Taxpayer Protection Act earlier this week. The act looks to protect taxpayers against “identity theft, deceptive Web sites and loan sharks” while also making it easier for taxpayers to retrieve property lost as a result of a wrongful IRS levy and additionaly directing the IRS to inform low-income returnees that they qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit. (As a rule we at TBWA do NOT criticize the IRS, so we’re not gonna give any smart-ass comments)

Heckle: to, once again, the Bush(whacked) Administration. According to a post in Real Cities.com, for the past six years, the Bush administration, being aided by Justice Department political appointees, has pursued a legal effort to restrict voter turnout in key battleground states in a way that has come down on the side of Republicans (And I can pinpoint when it started… right when the SCOTUS handed the presidency to Bush in 2000. 1/20/09 can NOT come soon enough…)

Applaud: to the news this past week that the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section is investigating connections between disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the White House… a potential White House problem that is expected to be exacerbated by missing White House emails. (Mr. Rove, please step up to the plate – you’re next)

Applaud: to some thawing (Pun intended) in the public’s views on Global Warming. A new poll shows that a third of Americans say “global warming ranks as the world’s single largest environmental problem” and that seven in 10 Americans want federal action on global warming. This comes as areas in the arctic north have been experiencing some of the worst impacts of global warming with Inuit hunters falling through thinning ice and dying and the fact that there’s not enough snow to build igloos for shelter during hunts… (But ask any republican and they’ll deny it… boggles the mind, doesn’t it?)

This was a hard week to determine this award, what with all the inane and idiotic comments coming from a handful of conservative pundits about the Virginia Tech attack, but I think we found a winner. This week’s gop tool of the week is former republican presidential and U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes. During an appearance on the Caplis & Silverman radio show, Keyes was asked about Senator Barack Obama (D-IL). Said Keyes: “He's an evil man and he needs to be stopped” and then proceeded to compare him to Adolf Hitler… (Besides it being an incredible case of the pot calling the kettle black, keep in mind that Keyes always has been and always will be a danger to common sense, and now he’s crossed the line and passed over to cartoon villainy. Alan Keyes: What. A. Tool.)

And finally…this week’s rundown on the 2008 presidential race.

On the Left: Richardson announced that he’s going to start airing ads in Iowa & has already bought airtime in New Hampshire… Clinton picked-up the endorsement of Hef & is going carbon neutral for a day… Edwards paid his campaign back for some obscenely expensive haircuts & hired a new strategist… Obama was out fundraising & announced that he would attend Rev. Al Sharpton’s NAN conference. The lower tier candidates? Meh…

On the right: McCain tried out for the Beach Boys & got heckled… Giiliani spoke this past week at Pat Robertson’s university & saw his lead in the polls start to shrink… Fred Thompson continues to “dazzle” even though he hasn’t announced his intentions yet… Tommy Tutone Thompson has already put his foot in his mouth and apologized for it… Huckabee had a ‘fun run’ in New Hampshire &… well, that’s really it… Romney flip-flopped on Clinton’s ‘It Takes a Village’ motto & managed to not stick his foot in his mouth for a week…

All I have, take ‘em as you will…