Propeller Week In Review: May 30, 2008 — May 30th 2008

By James Marcus

DIRTY LINEN

The publication of Scott McClellan's Bush-whacking memoir created a real stir this week at Propeller. "McClellan Whacks Bush, White House" nabbed 184 votes and 447 comments, including this vote of no confidence from Locky12: "I am not a psychologist here, but there seems to be jealousy here and hurt feelings... [And] despite all this alleged evil, he apparently never objected or threatened to quit. He was fired. Sour grapes." To which loverman replied: "The last thing this administration needs is a sycophant like yourself, spinning the facts. McClellan resigned his post and did not get dumped." MRCOFFEECAKE also spoke up on behalf of the former press secretary: "If there is one person left who has anything good to say about Bush, that will be your expert, to whom you will all flock and keep helping [to] clean Bush's dirty diaper." On a less scatological note, scott4261 decided to give McClellan the benefit of the doubt, despite his turncoat tone in the memoir: "I'm gonna take this for what it is. McClellan may have 'found religion' like Former Defense Secretary McNamara did in the '90s. Then again, maybe not...." And newbie0420 pointed the finger elsewhere, at the hoodwinked members of the U.S. Congress: "Bush himself has already admitted some of the info they used was bad. I'd be more upset with the Rep and Dem Congress that allowed the wool to be pulled over their eyes, if I were you." Meanwhile, a rash of other McClellan-related stories have come flooding in, including "Wehner: Scott's Truth vs. Reality" (91 votes, 282 comments) and "Bob Dole's scathing letter to Scott McClellan" (56 votes, 94 votes). The latter story, about a scorching denunciation from the former senator and Viagra pitchman, included this measured response from berkeley: "While Bob Dole is reacting authentically, McClellan may not be as bad as he seems."

GOING NUCLEAR

Iran, and that nation's nuclear ambitions, were back in the spotlight this week. "Bush 'plans Iran air strike by August'" bagged 225 votes and 272 comments. For rimbaud, this was good news indeed: "If we don't strike Iran before Bush leaves, don't count on the Democrats to do it! Striking Iran will serve both purposes--getting McCain elected and getting regime change going in Iran." Replied dunkirk: "Why would I want to count on it?? It seems regime change was happening until the moron in the White House decided to proclaim Iran part of his axis of evil. That spurred a crackdown on the moderates and reinforced the religious wacks." This led to some interesting exchanges about oil dependency (not to mention some cartoonish images of contemporary Arab life). The next generation of cars, said Mark Stevens, would get 90 miles per gallon, reducing our reliance on foreign crude: "You begin to realize that one day the world will stop buying oil from those wacky Arabs, and they can go back to their tents and camels, and leave us alone!" Natureboy fired back: "Believe it or not, Cletus, much of the Middle East has got cities, and roads, and cars and trucks and even indoor plumbing. And beyond that, if you followed such things, you would know that much of the world has been driving fuel-efficient vehicles that get up to 80 MPG. But they don't get into the USA, nope, no sir." Another story, "Iran withholds nuclear details," generated 184 votes, 299 comments, and this skeptical snort from GWHayduke: "Let's be preemptive and take care of those non-compliant (with our mandates) Iranian dogs. It's proven to be wildly successful in the recent past." This led to a comparison of Israel's long-established nuclear program with Iran's nascent one. Dicax Maximus draw a clear line in the (literal) sand between these two antagonists: "Yes, Israel has nukes. Has never used them, even when it came extremely close to being beaten. Iran, on the other hand, is lead by a nutter with a bunch of religious morons controlling said nutter." At this point several member raised the issue of Mutual Assured Destruction: would the Iranians draw back from such an apocalyptic scenario, just as the US and the USSR had during the Cold War? BB64 wasn't so sure: "While you couldn't trust [the Soviets] on every treaty, they understood the concept of MAD. Iran has taken shots at the USA since 1979. I think the average Iranian is much like you or I, but if his government doesn't share the consequences of using nukes, who knows?"

PAIN AT THE PUMP

On yet another related note, there was "Gas roars higher, pressuring holiday travelers," with 177 votes and 109 comments. STONERS was not happy: "I'm going out soon to fill up, before the evening rush-hour traffic--I know by then they will raise it again. Sometimes I've seen it change three times in one day. This is BS!" Nor was texasangelwings: "It costs about $63 to fill my Pacifica. That is why I am thinking about traveling to visit my kids by Amtrak, [which] would cost me 40 bucks roundtrip. I am hoping that Amtrak will set up more train stations along their routes." Noted tehranchik: "Gas in Oregon is $3.90." At the risk of causing a cross-country stampede, TimALoftis replied: "It's now $3.80 at my corner station here in Georgia." Harbeas was even more blunt about the downside: "I am so sick of this oil price boondoggle. There is absolutely no justification for the current price of oil. If our government doesn't get off it dead arse and do something about it, our whole way of life is in jeopardy!" (Added Eagle Eye: "I'm so glad I have wings.") On a more jocular note, there was also "Gasoline Now More Expensive Than Heroin." For ind06, who posted the original Onion article, this cost-benefit shift was a complete win: "Not to mention that heroin will give you a buzz that's just plain nicer than mainlining gasoline!" Replied Uncle Dave: "Gasoline just hasn't been the same since they took the lead out! It's a completely different buzz!" Now remember, boys: this is your mind on drugs.

AND DON'T OVERLOOK....

The death of Academy Award winner Sydney Pollack saddened the community. "Great director and actor," said cuba1902. "He will be missed." Added DiffeeOnline: "We studied Tootsie in a filmmaking class. It was regarded by the professor as the most structurally sound comedy he'd ever critiqued." Meanwhile, "Obama Claims His Uncle Liberated Auschwitz" earned 77 votes and 174 comments, many of them from jubilant opponents of the Illinois senator. For pc25, who posted the article, Obama was "the ShamWow salesman" and "a 21st-century media-savvy carnival barker." AbuAmirah fought fire with fire, comparing the late Ronald Reagan to "a 20th-century media-savvy snake-oil salesman." Elsewhere, Propeller members sounded off about glaciers, radishes, Jimmy Carter, and the military draft. And finally, during a week with a fairly high vitriol quotient, there were some welcome moments of levity. "Itsy bitsy, teeny weeny," with 134 votes and 238 comments, probably takes the palm in this department. The video may have had more appeal to the guys (who knows?), and not many of the bikinis on display were actually yellow or polka-dotted--but it did inspire an elated, somewhat dotty conversation. Said cowboygrandpa: "Yeah! Man, what a sight for these old eyes to behold.... Makes me want to be 25 again." But perhaps GHOSTWHOWALKS said it best: "WOO WOO." And that's it until next week, folks.

Tags: week-in-review, wir

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