Purr: Rex the Mountain Lion

By Pepper. So, Congress has voted to cut spending on student loans and health care, while Bush asks for greater spending in Iraq, and the Department of Homeland Security is spending our tax dollars on Rex the Mountain Lion? Rex the Mountain Lion has been getting lots of play. Shakes thinks he's hot, and Wonktor/Wonktoria's already seeing some human-animal hybrid issues.

But these types of cuddly campaigns are nothing new. According to the Ad Council-sponsored Smokey the Bear history site, Smokey was invented in 1944 as an indirect response to the fear of Japanese attacks during World War II. Launches from Japanese submarines almost set fire to Los Padres National Forest, so Smokey was designed to encourage people to put out potential fires that were of the submarine's making.

One line from the campaign that appears on the site should ring true today: "Our Carelessness, Their Secret Weapon." Remember that one. I'ts likely to be trotted out again as we are all encouraged to eavesdrop on our neighbors.

The Ready Kids site also has some real gems that reflect our times. Rex advises kids, "Always listen to the adults in charge and ask for help if you need it." Oh, yeah? Isn't that what got us in trouble with Hurricane Katrina in the first place? There was no one in charge. That was Brownie's job, and he wasn't there. Any kid who did help his or her family during Katrina - and there were plenty of them - would probably crack right up at this message.

The Washington Post drips sarcasm when it describes the DHS' "Ready Kids" campaign as "a cheerier version of the 1950s' 'duck and cover' classroom drills that advised students to dive under their desks in the event of nuclear attack." This administration couldn't possibly try any harder to create a World War / Cold War atmosphere, complete with cuddly mascot.