The Weekly Rewind

Lot more heckles than applauds this week... but considering who we have in the White House - it's not totally surprising. So sit back and enjoy a little thing we like to call; The Weekly Rewind.

Applaud: to more proof that people are getting wise to the Bush(whacked) Administration and its ways. Last month 36% of Americans approved of Bush’s handling of the economy. Now it’s 33% of Americans that approve of President Bush’s handling of the economy. Additionally, according to the new AP-Ipsos poll, a scant 27% believe the country is “headed in the right direction,” including fewer than half of republicans. (what else needs to be said other than; Haw-Haw!)

Heckle: to presidential spokesman Tony Fratto. Earlier this week aboard Air Force One, a reporter asked him if the Bush administration was at all worried about a recession. His response? “I don’t know of anyone predicting a recession.” (Dude… open a damn newspaper... good to know Bush is surrounding himself with the best and brightest…)

Applaud: to CREW, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Showing that they’re not partisan (despite a majority of their complaints being against republicans) the group filed an ethics complaint with federal prosecutors against Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) earlier this week. The group is accusing her of violating federal bribery law by obtaining a $2 million earmark for Voyager Expanded Learning, mere days after her campaign received a $30,000 campaign contribution from company executives and their relatives… (eventually politicians will learn won’t they?? Right? Anyone??)

Heckle: to more mind-numbing inanity from “President” Bush. Bush used his first extended tour of the Middle East to rally support for international pressure against Iran… despite that silly little NIE that not only significantly played-down Tehran’s nuclear ambitions but also left Israeli and Arab leaders rethinking their own approach toward Iran while questioning Washington’s resolve… but Bush didn’t abate and held his position that they need to be stopped. From what I have no idea…

Applaud: to the about-time resignation of republican Rep. John Doolittle (CA). For months he’s resisted calls for his resignation from other republicans, announcing in September; “I will not step aside. I am running again, period.” Wrong! Earlier this week he held a press conference where he reluctantly said that he would be retiring at the end of his term… (and the republican dominoes continue to fall… good riddance to bad rubbish)

Heckle: to presidential pipe dreams and spin. “President” Bush predicted earlier this week that there “will be a signed peace treaty” to turn the West Bank and Gaza Strip into a Palestinian state “by the time I leave office.” Many, if not all, see this as highly unlikely. And for the president to ignore this region for 7 years and say this in his final lame-duck year is contemptible… but then again, this is George Bush we’re talking about. Expectations from those in the Middle East are so low that one Arab diplomat expressed “disbelief” that Bush will use the trip to renew his drive for Middle East democracy, sarcastically asking “Is that still on?” and a recent poll of Israelis found that “77% of those questioned” believed Mr. Bush would fail in that drive… what else needs to be said?

Applaud: AND Heckle: to the Pentagon for weighing an Afghanistan surge. Earlier this week Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that he’s considering sending “3,000 additional marines to Afghanistan to boost forces ahead of a Taliban spring offensive.” (I applaud this because Afghanistan is the true terrorism theater of operations and it’s where our focus should be – personally I think it should have stayed our focus, but what do I know? – but I also have to throw out a small heckle because it’s a move that will stretch out our already thin military... but let’s wait and see what happens.)

Applaud: to the federal judge that ordered the White House to “reveal whether copies of possibly millions of missing e-mails are stored on computer backup tapes” earlier this week. According to AP, Judge Facciola gave the White House five business days to report whether computer backup tapes contain e-mails written between 2003 and 2005… (who wants to wager that the White House will either; A) claim executive privilege, B) say they were lost or C) all of the above…)

Heckle: to yet another sign of a weakening job market. The number of Americans working part-time hours increased to 2.8 million in 2007 because of slower business conditions. That number is up 9% from 2006. (And yet we have a White House spokesman saying he hasn’t heard anyone talking about a recession… makes you wonder what the hell is going on in the White House doesn’t it?)

Applaud: to one of the best lines ever read on Daily Kos’ Cheers and Jeers column by Bill in Portland Maine.

“CHEERS to John Edwards. I still like ya, dude. But unless a YouTube video surfaces showing Hillary giving Barack a blow job on a church altar while taking bribes from Jack Abramoff and administering an abortion to a teenager, I'm afraid it's not looking good. But don’t rule out an independent bid with Gore. It's still early.”

Nice…

Heckle: to “The Surge”. One year ago this week, “President” Bush announced he was sending 21,500 additional American forces to Iraq. (if you listen to John McCain and Joe Lieberman the surge was a success… if you listen to anyone else the jury is still out. Quite a few military analysts and former military officials say that the surge may have “enhanced prospects for a bloodier civil war” because it allowed the “warring sides” — now with more segregation — to “re-group and re-arm” in anticipation of a new round of insurgent attacks. But McCain and Lieberman, and a few trolls, still believe that it has worked unequivocally… but then again; they’re schmucks)

Applaud: to the former chairman of President Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers, Martin Feldstein, for telling it like it is and not spinning it for love of party. Earlier this week Mr. Feldstein said that ‘we are now talking about more likely than not,’ about the US experiencing a recession…(And yet we have a White House spokesman saying he hasn’t heard anyone talking about a recession… makes you wonder what the hell is going on in the White House doesn’t it?)

Heckle: to not paying your bills on time; government version. AP is reporting that telephone companies have cut off FBI wiretaps used to “eavesdrop on suspected criminals” because the bureau has repeatedly failed to pay their phone bills on time. Said DOJ Inspector General Glenn Fine, the “FBI’s lax oversight of money used in undercover investigations” resulted in “telecommunications carriers actually disconnecting phone lines established to deliver surveillance results to the FBI, resulting in lost evidence.” (Wow… the incompetence of the Bush(whacked) Administration apparently has filtered throughout all areas of the US government… Christ that’s scary…)

Heckle: to pathetic attempts to change history and change the meaning of the law all at once. Lawyers for Sen. Larry Craig (r-ID) are arguing that the “underlying act” of his airport bathroom arrest was not criminal because it “didn’t involve multiple victims” and that hand signals should be considered “constitutionally protected speech.” (What!!?? Are you fucking kidding me???)

Heckle: to wagging the dog. Earlier this week the Pentagon said that three of Navy ships asea in the Strait of Hormuz had been harassed and provoked by Iranian speedboats, to the point that they felt so threatened that it was about to open fire on the boats. The Pentagon even unveiled a four-minute video of the incident. Knowing the history of this adminstration, quite a few people were skeptical, which grew after Iran released its own video that didn’t show any Iranian boats approaching U.S. vessels. Today the Navy acknowledged that the verbal threat made in the tape may not have been Iranian…