Weasels of the Week: Mitt Romney & Kansas City Chiefs "fans"

I think we've all heard by now that Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney has reportedly said he would cut funding to PBS if elected.

SAY WHAT?

You would think the GOP would've paid closer attention to the bumbling on local levels last year that cost them some elections, including in my home district. PBS, home to Sesame Street, Antiques Roadshow, Masterpiece Theatre, Nova, and so much more, relies on viewer support, and, while I'm not certain about other parts of the country, local affiliate WMHT has had more pledge break periods than usual in recent years. More like every other month instead of every 3-4. Cutting funding, or at least the threat of doing so, has angered some folks, and the fact that Romney name-checked Sesame Street icon Big Bird prompted the giant canary (Carroll Spinney) to make a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live over the weekend to address the issue with Seth Meyers during Weekend Update.

I am reminded of last year's Mayoral election in Troy, in which the local GOP resorted to a last minute attack ad in a desperate bid to swing the election. Instead, Republican candidate Carmella Mantello was routed at the polls as County Legislator Lou Rosamilla was elected. 11 months later, Mitt Romney's mouth has all but gift-wrapped a second term for President Obama.

The bottom line? PBS means different things to a lot of people, kids and adults alike. Slashing funding has viewers in a panic, afraid they'll lose their favorite shows. Real smooth, Mitt. NOT!

Less than 48 hours after fans in Atlanta pelted the field with debris in protest of a call that went against the Braves and ultimately cost Atlanta a chance to advance in the National League playoffs, another group of overly inebriated morons made headlines in Kansas City, but this time, there was no junk tossed out onto the field.

Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel was being attended to by team doctors after taking a vicious hit from a Baltimore player. Cassel would have to leave the game, and it was later reported that he had suffered a concussion. Given the greater emphasis on player safety, the normal thing to do would be if Cassel were to leave the field under his own power, the fans would applaud in support of their player. In this case, with Cassel down on the turf at Arrowhead Stadium, some fans, and I'm using the term loosely here, applauded the fact that he'd been knocked out of the game.

Again, SAY WHAT?

I have to guess that these clueless, classless, pie-eyed clowns weren't Chiefs fans at all, and I doubt very seriously they made the pilgrimage all the way from Baltimore to cheer on the Ravens. The only other time I can think of a classless scenario such as this would be in---where else?---Philadelphia, where Eagles fans cheered when Michael Irvin, then with the hated Dallas Cowboys, now a NFL Network analyst, was similarly removed from a game several years back. Then again, in Philadelphia, they cheer when Santa Claus gets abused, that's how wacky they are. Of course, fans in Philadelphia are also cruel enough to cover for one of their own when they use a laser pointer on opposing players, as happened in a Phillies-St. Louis game on national television 3 years ago.

In this country, we have a God-given right to cheer and boo who we want to and when. Problem is, the line blurs when some people have too much to drink too soon, and while we handed out Dunce Caps to the goofs in Atlanta, the drunks in Kansas City get Weasel ears, for giving the city, the Chiefs, and the NFL a black eye they don't deserve.

Mitt Romney gets the ears for daring to take the pruning shears to PBS. Enough said there.