Rock n Roll Recap: #81-100

The Rock Countdown will continue shortly...however, here's a quick reminder of where we were...


81. Bon Jovi
82. Carlos Santana
83. ZZ Top
84. The Mamas and the Papas
85. Lynyrd Skynrd
86. Allman Brothers Band
87. Dire Straits
88. Judas Priest
89. Coldplay
90. Green Day

91. KISS
92. Smashing Pumpkins
93. Rage Against The Machine
94. Soundgarden
95. Motley Crue
96. Def Leppard
97. Weezer
98. Tool
99. Foo Fighters
100. Ringo

Happy New Year!!!

Happy 2009!

Just a quick look back...(it's what I do)...

1 year ago: Hillary Clinton was the certain Democratic nominee for President.

5 years ago: The Boston Red Sox won their first World Series since 1918.

10 years ago: Bill Clinton escaped removal from office after being impeached.

20 years ago: The Bay Area suffered a monster quake that collapsed the Bay Bridge.

25 years ago: Ronald Reagan won a massive re-election victory.

50 years ago: Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and The Big Bopper are killed in a plane crash.

100 years ago: William Howard Taft becomes president. Theodore Roosevelt goes big game hunting to avoid sharing the spotlight.

150 years ago: John Brown raided Harper's Ferry, Virginia trying to start a slave revolt. It helped lead to the Civil War.

250 years ago: The Seven Years War ends on the battlefield (diplomatically, it would be a few more years)

The Worst Ever

The Lions wonderfully historic season got me to thinking...who are the worst teams of all time...

Well, about 10 minutes of internet surfing and I have a list.

Worst Ever Teams:
Baseball: 1899 Cleveland Spiders: 20-134
Basketball: 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers: 9-73
Football: 2008 Detroit Lions: 0-16 (1-23 from mid-season 2007)
Hockey: 1980-81 Winnipeg Jets 9-57-14


Detroit's Worst ever:
Baseball: 2003 Tigers 43-119 (1996 53-109)
Basketball: 1993-94 Detroit Pistons 20-62
Hockey: 1985-86 Red Wings 17-57-6

Bush: 2007

Domestically, 2007 was a near failure. The Congress passed the Energy Independence and Security Act, but the Immigration Bill Failed. Conservatives attacked the “amnesty bill” and alienated the Hispanic Vote. This helped sow the seeds of defeat in 2008.

Bush fired several US attorneys. Democrats complained. A phony Washington scandal was born.

Overseas, the Surge in Iraq began. The Democrats declared defeat. However, the surge turned the war around and it is basically won. It is Obama’s to wind down or screw up.

Lastly, there was an Agreement with North Korea over nuclear program. We’ll see about where this one leads….

Caroline Kennedy

A lot of people are questioning Caroline Kennedy's qualifications to be a US Senator. However, if Barack Obama can be president, the Caroline Kennedy can be senator.

Christmas vs. Mithras

Why is Christmas celebrated on December 25 when we do not know the exact date of Jesus' birth? Public Relations!

The early Christians did not celebrate Christmas. However, some religions and cults did have winter festivals and holidays around the winter solstice. As a result, the early church was worried about losing followers to the cults.

One of the competitors was the Cult of Mithra. The Mithradic Cult was a growing Persian religion that celebrated at the winter solstice. They'd have a party and sacrifice a bull to their god.

Early Church officials then decided to have their own celebration around the solstice and decided Christ's birthday would be the focus.

Merry Christmas! ho-ho-ho

Bush: 2006

2006 was another poor year for Bush. Although Zarqawi was killed and Saddam executed, Bush continued to suffer setbacks in Iraq. The insurrection continued to grow.

Meanwhile, illegal immigrants and their allies had their own insurrection. In several cities, there were protests and walkouts for illegal aliens’ rights. This angered many and pushed Bush to support immigration reform in 2007.

The courts began to push back as well. The Terrorist Surveillance Program was ruled unconstitutional. This ruling basically gave constitutional rights to terrorists worldwide. The program monitored terrorists’ communications worldwide. Idiots that opposed the program believed that it opened the door to spying on Americans. Of course, we know that did not happen. It was an attempt to bloody Bush some more. Bush did not appeal for whatever reason.

The high court also ruled that military tribunals were a no-no. This reversed a World War II decision allowing such tribunals. The tribunals were controversial as some believed the terrorists would not receive fair trials. This has proven false. However, it the controversy demonstrates the difficulties surrounding the incarceration of multi-national enemy combatants as opposed to soldiers in a national army.

Also pushing back were the Iranians. The fascist government of Iran wants to build a nuclear bomb. Their program is buried deep underground. As a result, it is probably safe from a strike. This problem goes back at least a decade and will continue into the Obama Administration. Obama has promised to drop nukes on Iran should they attack Israel.

Bush had two achievements of note in 2006. First, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands were named a national monument creating largest marine preserve in US History. Second, Samuel Alito was nominated to the Supreme Court.

In November, the Democrats took over both houses of Congress for the first time since 1994. Bush was a drag. More importantly, the Republicans had been involved in several scandals and stuck their noses into the Shiavo case in 2005. The biggest bomb came at the 11th hour of the election when Rahm Emmanuel released information on the Mark Foley scandal. This turned a Democratic tide into a landslide.

Bush: 2005

2005 was a political disaster for Bush and a natural disaster for New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina decimated New Orleans. The City was basically destroyed. The Bush Administration got blamed. They were very slow to respond to the crisis. However, the city and state governments were ultimately responsible for the dead. They failed to evacuate those that could not escape. They did not even try. If there was a villain in Katrina, it was Mayor Ray Nagin.

Before Katrina, Bush had blown almost all his political capital on social security reform. His plan went down like Clintoncare in 1994. Democrats attacked it and scared seniors. Seniors refuse to allow any changes to the program. Bush should have sent out trial balloons and then abandoned his reform efforts instead of trying to explain it to people unwilling to listen.

Another blunder was the attempt at putting Harriet Myers on the Supreme Court. She was not qualified and conservatives stood up to Bush. As a result, he placed John Roberts on the court as Chief Justice.

Unlike social security reform, bankruptcy reform passed. The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Reform Act made it more difficult to declare bankruptcy. Many people were intentionally running up their credit cards and then declaring bankruptcy knowing they’d just get credit again. Then, they’d do it again. This act was designed to stop the abuse.

In the foreign arena, Kyoto went into effect. Wisely, the Bush Administration refused to participate. It did not make much sense to participate. The biggest polluters were exempted from the protocols. Unless something could be done to address China and India, then Kyoto and Kyoto-like agreements make no sense.

In the former Soviet Union, a would be assassin tossed a live grenade at Bush. It did not go off.

While that grenade did not go off, the CIA leak case exploded. This was a Washington scandal. However, Bush was wounded. He had been attacked for over a year for “lying” about WMD, was slow to react to Katrina, and had blown all his political capital on Harriet Myers and Social Security Reform. The press jumped on it as hard as they have ignored the ties between Obama and the Illinois Governor.

Lastly, the Republicans in Congress decided to place themselves into the Terry Shiavo case. House Leader Tom Delay decided that Shiavo’s husband had tried to murder her and wanted to block efforts to end her life. She was in a coma. The government had no business in this affair. However, Delay was a social con. Social cons are simply liberals who are simply arch conservatives on social issues. Delay attempted to use the government to intervene. This hurt the GOP more so than anything Bush did during his first five years in office. Between Katrina, Bush’s blunders, Iraq, and Shiavo, the GOP was on the road to defeat in 2006.

2008 Year End Awards

Here are the 2008 Year End Awards...

Person of the Year: Barack Obama (Easiest pick of all time)

Story of the Year: Black Man Wins White House

Record of the Year: Black Ice - AC/DC (their best since Back in Black)

Song of the Year: Girls in their Summer Clothes - Bruce Springsteen (A middle aged twist on an old theme)

Worst Record of the Year: Chinese Democracy - Axl Rose (14 years for this??)

Worst Song of the Year: Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis (Get a damned tampon)

Best Movie - Dark Knight (No other film comes close)

Worst Movie - X-Files: I Want To Believe (This movie never really started)

Best TV Show - Life on Mars (Very clever show contrasts 2008 with 1973)

Worst TV Show - Any MTV show...(for the brain dead)

Team of the Year: Detroit Red Wings (I am biased)

Worst Team of the Year: Detroit Lions (No Contest)

Athlete of the Year: Michael Phelps (Another easy call)

Moron of the Year: Casey Anthony

Runner ups: Plaxico Burress, OJ Simpson, the Media, Chicago Politicians, and Keith Olberfuehrer.

Bush: Year 4 (2004)

The Bush Administration’s good political luck began to change in 2004. Left wing anger and paranoia over all things Bush found focus. They had been angered over Al Gore’s 2000 election defeat, Bush’s popularity, and the Iraq War. They were going over the edge. Michael Moore channeled left wing anger in his fictionalized account of the Iraq War, “Fahrenheit 911.” Bush’s popularity began to take hits as he failed to respond to criticism.

The Administration had it’s only real scandal in 2004. Prisoners in Abu Ghraib had been humiliated, intimidated and tortured. Images of a hooded Iraqi prisoner hooked up to what appeared to be wires made the front pages of magazines and newspapers around the world. This further fueled the expanding Iraqi insurgency.

In Spain, terrorists bombed a train. The attack and deaths frightened the left wing Spanish government into leaving Iraq. The Spanish reaction made the world more dangerous as terrorists now had a victory and a blueprint for further attacks. Spain’s reaction was irresponsible.

The one bright spot was Libya. As a result of diplomatic pressure, and pictures of Saddam Hussein’s arrest, the Libyan government gave up it’s nuclear program. This was Bush’s one major policy victory in 2004.

In November, Bush was re-elected over Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. The election came down to Ohio. Bush carried it. He carried the nation with 51% of the vote. Bush was the first candidate in 16 years to crack the 50% mark. The final electoral count was 286-252. The Democrats mounted an amazing voter turnout, but it could not top the Social Conservative turnout. The GOP found voters no one knew existed. These voters did not show up for McCain in 2008.

2003 (Addendum)

I forgot about the now infamous (and forgotten) blackout of 2003. On August 14, the lights went out. 50 million people in Ontario and eight U.S. states lost power. Most had power restored the following day. An antiquated power grid caused the blackout. No one has fixed it.

The blackout was the first in a series of infrastructure failures during the Bush years. The failures themselves were not his doing. However, the president has done nothing to improve infrastructure. In fairness, neither has anyone in congress.

Bush and Iraq

In 1991, Saddam promised to leave Iraq open to inspectors. Failure to comply opened the door to further military action on the part of the coalition. Saddam kicked out the inspectors. This led a post-911 paranoia in the American Administration. Saddam must have something to hide. All the major intelligence agencies believed he had WMD. The US pushed for an invasion. There had been nearly 20 UN resolutions, a Clinton-era statement that regime change in Iraq was the goal of the US government, a force authorization from Congress, and the 1991 cease fire agreement. Despite protestations of the left, the war was legal.

Many have accused Bush of lying about WMD to justify the war. The big lie was not about WMD, but that Bush lied. Everyone believed Saddam had WMD. Saddam himself said he was planning on restarting his nuclear program and nuclear materials were taken out of Iraq in 2008. There was no lie on Bush's part. However, the administration did juice up the information. Also, they gave a half dozen reasons to go to war. One of which was WMD.

Whatever the reason for war, the initial invasion resulted in a quick defeat for the Iraqi army. The US blitzkrieg known as "Shock and Awe" ended the conventional war in record time. Bush would declare victory on an aircraft carrier under a banner titled "Mission Accomplished." It was only the end of the first round in Iraq and Bush later admitted the banner and victory declaration was a mistake.

The success of the invasion led to the fall of the Hussein government and celebrations throughout Iraq. Uday and Qusay Hussein died in a shootout with American troops. Saddam was captured in his "spider hole." The crimes of the Hussein regime were brought to light. Iraq had been liberated. The US did not know what to do next. Then, an insurgency began.

In 2004, a pesky insurgency expanded. The Bush Administration did not have a plan to deal with this contingency. They went to war with too few troops for occupation duties. They sent the Iraqi Army home. The dismissed Iraqi army could have been used to maintain the peace. Instead, their weapons went to the insurgents.

By 2006, the insurgency had grown into a major problem for Bush. The insurgent leader, Al-Zarqawi, was killed, but the insurgency breathed still. Despite his death and Saddam's execution at the end of '06, the Bush Administration showed no vision for victory in Iraq. In November, the Democrats retook congress due to GOP scandals. Bush had to act.

In 2007, Bush ordered a surge. Democrats declared it a failure immediately. However, it succeeded. As of today, Iraq is safer than before the surge. The future of the conflict will soon be in Obama's hands. Bush has helped setup a Democratic Iraq. If that becomes a stable democracy, then his legacy improves dramatically.

The fact Bush attempted to "nation build" and "spread democracy" to the Middle East is another paradox. During the 2000 campaign, he attacked Clinton-era nation building. These types of policies usually come from the left. Bush resembles Woodrow Wilson. Many Bush speeches during this period sound like they were written by Wilson during World War I. Wilson wanted ethnic determination and to spread democracy to end the chances of another global conflict. Bush has proposed similar policies. If you like Wilson, you should love Bush!

What is the Bush legacy in Iraq? That is to be determined. One lesson reiterated by this war is the country can not wage war with too few troops. Despite the initial success, boots were needed to maintain order. Iraq is now a fledgling Democracy and that is a positive step. However, the future is unwritten and Iraq's future is still clouded.

Bush: Year 3

Continuing our look back at the Bush Years, 2003 was dominated by the Iraq War. That will be covered in a separate entry. Non-Iraq news was dominated by health issues.

The Bush Administration passed the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit. This program is the biggest government program since the Great Society. The program is popular amongst seniors, but will prove expensive in the long term. It comes as a surprise to many that a Republican president would push this especially during a war. However, the social conservative wing of the GOP is liberal on government intervention and social programs. In this way, the Social Conservatives are no different than liberals.

The other major health issue tackled by the Bush Administration is African AIDS Relief. Bush is the first president to really address AIDS in Africa and Third World poverty relief. It is one of the issues that the left give him credit on.

Lastly, the Columbia disintegrated upon reentry in February.

The rest of the year was all Iraq all the time.

How to Grade a President

Most people are not trained to think critically. Most just react emotionally. Also, most people have short term memories. They can't remember what happened an hour ago, let alone 5 years ago. So, with that in mind, here are some criteria for grading a presidency...

Not necessarily in any order.

1. How many bills are passed that the president supports or opposes.
2. What gets passed.
3. Long term impact of policies and decisions.
4. Ability to deal with crisis.
5. Ability to predict a crisis.
6. What the president vetoes.
7. Are the vetoes overridden?
8. Do the president's policies hold up to court challenges?
9. Ability to inspire.

Bush in Review: Afghanistan

One major event in 2001 was the invasion of Afghanistan and Fall of the Taliban. The Taliban are a modern day Islamic Nazi political/religious group. They committed many atrocities across Afghanistan. The U.S. overthrew them. They literally ran to the hills. Unfortunately, many Taliban and El Queda members escaped. Osama Bin Laden himself escaped heavy bombardment at the Battle of Tora Bora. On the plus side, the US and NATO overthrew a barbaric regime. On the other hand, many of them escaped.

In 2003, a counterinsurgency began. A stalemate has developed. However, there are some positives to report. Afghanistan has held free elections and will probably continue to do so. Also, some Taliban groups have opened negotiations to end hostilities.

The War in Iraq has pushed Afghanistan to the sidelines. However, with Iraq apparently winding down, Afghanistan should start moving back to the front burner.

As a side note, 911 was the first time the NATO charter had ever been invoked to defend a member nation.

Bush: Year 2 (2002)

Year two was dominated by the War on Terror. In January, Bush made the now infamous "Axis of Evil" speech. He tied Iran, Iraq, and North Korea together in the same fashion as Italy, Germany, and Japan during World War II. He was trying to be bold and Reaganesque. It was Bush's attempt at an "Evil Empire" speech. The problem was Iran and Iraq hated each other. There may be some connection between Iran and North Korea though.

The Bush Administration opened the Gitmo Detention Facility. Human Rights groups and liberals complained. However, where were these people to go? When the facility closes, where will the bad guys go? Originally, they were going to go through military tribunals. There is precedent for this. Nazis captured in the US had military tribunals. The courts have since ruled that they have constitutional rights. So, Bush has kept the nation safe. However, the courts overruled some of his methods.

Bush also opened the Department of Homeland Security. This was a pet project of Senator Joe Lieberman. Conservatives have talked about closing departments and downsizing government. Yet, Bush created a new cabinet department. On the downside, it creates a new bureaucracy and expands government. On the plus side, it should lessen interdepartmental squabbles and ease information sharing.

In other foreign policy matters, Bush withdrew from the ABM Treaty. The treaty goes back to 1972. The main sticking point was missile defense. This was a bit silly. The missile defense system could end up the American Maginot Line. Massive missile strikes or suitcase nukes render the system null.

Lastly, Worldcom went bankrupt. Again, mismanagement and Clinton era corruption at Worldcom and in the government led to this.

Year 2 was mixed. Withdrawing from the missile treaty was wrong. The Department of Homeland Security was not needed. Although, there was a need to end interdepartmental squabbles and increase information sharing. Gitmo kept bad guys out of the field, but made the US look bad. The Axis of Evil Speech was a bit silly.

Bush: Year 1

Since his administration is coming to an end, it is a good time to review the last eight years. Instead of doing everything at once, it might be more interesting to review it year by year. His early years were very successful while the second term has had issues. Also, it is sometimes hard to gauge the full impact of a presidency until they have left the scene and been gone awhile. Reagan is now considered great. Nixon is much more sympathetic. Clinton's reputation has gone down the toilet as a result of taking on Obama. Bush's reputation may depend greatly on Obama. If Obama comes off incompetently, then Bush is probably elevated. If Obama comes off as the next FDR, then Bush suffers. Either way, it will probably take a generation (and a lot of declassification) to get a full picture.

2001:

Bush began his term with a nice inaugural address. Most inaugural addresses are forgettable. W's first (and second) were better than most. However, no one outside of historians will remember either of them. Despite the controversy surrounding his presidency, Bush decided to act as though he won in a landslide and his address reflected both that confidence as well as the nature of his election.

Bush had two major issues to deal with right away. First, the economy was in recession. As a result, he pushed for and got his tax cut package. It really can not be underscored how this has helped. 911 really hurt the economy. The tax cuts saved a major economic downturn. It was not until the credit markets collapsed that the economy truly soured. Even then, the tax cuts were seen as positives. Obama has refused to repeal them.

The second issue was the Chinese. They decided to test Bush right away. They captured a spy plane and refused to let the crew go. Eventually, they were released.

Domestically, the first year of the W. Administration witnessed the collapse of Enron. Many blamed this on Bush, but this was something festering for awhile under the previous administration. That administration looked the other way as they received campaign donations and other Enron favors.

The administration also passed No Child Left Behind. For some reason, Bush felt it necessary to push for and support a Ted Kennedy creation. Ironically, teachers blame Republicans for this. Although many thumbed their noses and voted for it, No Child is hard left legislation. It involved federal involvement in local schools. Nothing is more antithetical to conservatives. Preliminary evidence shows No Child might actually be working. However, it is one of those things we will have to wait and see on.

Bush attempted to reach out to African Americans. He placed more people of African descent into positions of power than any administration in history. Powell, Rice, Paige and others filled out the President's brain trust.

Then came 911. Bush's response to 911 was as well as could be expected. He rallied the nation and gave a powerful speech at the site. Afterwards, the administration passed the Patriot Act. It was controversial, but has apparently worked. Despite some complaints, it did not crack down on civil liberties.

911 also brought on the Bush Doctrine. There have been several Bush Doctrines, but this one states the US has the right of Preemption. If there is a threat, the US can take it out. Bush was simply codifying something presidents had used for years. It helped lead to the Iraq Invasion.

Overall, Bush's first year was successful in terms of getting things done. The ultimate result of Bush policies such as Preemption and No Child Left Behind, have yet to be realized.