There is little debate that George Bush has not been a succesful president. Almost everything in America is worse off than it was when he took office, with the notable exception of religious extremism. But where does W rank among the worst ever? This was a question posed to a number of historians in 2003, and their conclusion were interesting. Over 80% rated him as a failure, and most thought he was the second worst ever, besides Nixon. Here’s a typical assessment:
“My assessment is that George W. Bush?s record on running up debt to burden our children is the worst since Ronald Reagan; his record on government surveillance of citizens is the worst since Richard Nixon; his record on foreign-military policy has gotten us into the worst foreign mess we?ve been in since Lyndon Johnson sank us into Vietnam; his economic record is the worst since Herbert Hoover; his record of tax favoritism for the rich is the worst since Calvin Coolidge; his record of trampling on civil liberties is the worst since Woodrow Wilson. How far back in our history would we need to go to find a presidency as disastrous for this country as that of George W. Bush has been thus far? My own vote went to the administration of James Buchanan, who warmed the president?s chair while the union disintegrated in 1860-61.”
It would be interesting to see what they thought now, after it was discovered that his office outed a CIA agent, the war in Iraq has taken a turn for the worse, and the embarrasment that was the Katrina rescue effort.

But a recent poll done by a professor at Northwestern and the Wall Street Journal has him doing a little better, finishing as the 19th best president. Here is an article claiming he is the worst ever written this past May. Another claim of him as worst ever written last week.

Our second mysterious death in the past week! Meriwether Lewis died on this date in 1809, and people have speculated about the cause of his death ever since. Most people think it was suicide, and a University of Iowa professor recently concluded as much. But there are those who remain convinced that it was murder. Mysterious deaths in the 19th century rule!

In Japan, this is known as Jan Ken Pon.

There is sure to be some controversy, but Johnny has picked his favorite bad Broadway play titles, and now is time to vote for the one you think is worst! The one that wins gets two free tickets to the Philadelphia Theatre Company’s production of Adrift in Macao. To vote, just scroll down until you see the poll on the right hand side of the page.

Entry #1: Jeff
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Planned Parenthood

Entry #2: Jerry
FEMA: The Musical

Entry #3: Gary
Peeps!!! The Multicolor Marshmellow Musical!

Entry #4: Terri
Mortgage!

Entry #5: Tamin
Pedal Like You Mean It

Entry #6: Jeanne
Kitties in Heat

Entry #7: Miriam
Let’s Take a Pole! The zany musical about the first Polish Pope!

Entry #8: Eric
Moustache Rides: The Erotic Journey of Joseph Stalin

Entry #9: Art
Saved by the Bell: The Musical

Entry #10: Larry
Haggis!

Ed Wade is Audi like 5 G’s! Here’s a link to the message board discussing it. It’s going to be a tough job for whoever comes in, but there is obviously some potential with this team. Wish they could build a team around Utley, Howard, and Rollins, but they have so many no-trade clauses that Wade offered that make things so difficult. It’s easier said than done to drop Thome, Bell, Lieberthal, and Abreu. We’d have to eat all of those contracts. Don’t know how it’s going to be done. Unfortunately, the one we let slip away in terms of manager (Jim Leyland) just signed with Detroit. Also, I would like to apologize for using the term “Audi like 5 G’s.”

Johnny will be hosting the Surreal Neil and the Super Diamond show at the Trocadero on Thursday night! Wait a minute, Johnny, don’t you host quizzo on Thursday nights? Yes, I do. However, you will be in good hands, as my protege Pedro Mays will be doing the honors on Thursday.

The Super Diamond show should be something special, as the Man in Black will be the opening act! That’s right, you get to hear the songs of Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond in the same place on the same night! It gets better! If you come to quizzo on Tuesday and Wednesday, I will be giving away tons of Super Diamond tickets. I have 100 tix to give away! Super Diamond was named by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the top tribute bands on earth! I’m using way too many exclamation points, and they are starting to lose their emphasis!

One of my favorite politicians of all time is celebrating a special day today. Well, he would be if he were still alive. It was on this date in 1973 that Spiro Agnew was indicted for tax fraud! Of course, Spiro is more famous for having the name Spiro Agnew than for anything he actually did, because if you rearrange the letters of his name you get “Grow a Penis.” (BTW, if you rearrange the letters in my name you get “Joy! Smooth ending” and hedonism joy tong”. If you wanna anagram your own name, go here.) One team thought Agnew got a raw deal.

There has been a backlash against Columbus Day in recent years (with good reason). In Venezuela last year, a statue of Columbus was toppled in Venezuela on Columbus Day and dragged through the streets, much to the dismay of Pat Robertson. Here is an interesting take on Columbus, while here is a fairly pathetic defense of him. So I won’t be celebrating the sailing skills of a mass murderer. But I will be celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving!

Last night I spoke with Jam Master Sean (aka C. Urbanus), who is running the First Anunal Keystone Classic, which I will be hosting tonight at Whiskey Dix (421 North 7th Street, 1/2 block north of Callowhill), . Here were his thoughts heading into this historic Rock, Paper, Scissors event.

Johnny: Let’s talk to the first timers out there. What kind of mindset do have to be in going into your first match?

JMS: I always say that the first tournament is a learning experience. You have to go in, see what it’s like, and play against the professionals. If you can make it a couple of rounds, you’ve done pretty well. You’re going to be going up against some of the top players in the region, if not the country. The bright lights may distract you. There will be lots of press there, lots of media, the lights will be shining down on you, (He’s serious, btw, the Learning Channel and KYW are both expected to be there.) and that’s kind of unnerving.

Continue reading “Tonight’s Da Night” →

The rumor mill has been spinning furiously lately, and Johnny would like to address those rumors. He will NOT be rapping tonight at the First Annual Keystone Classic. He doesn’t know where people get off starting these rumors. “Rapping at the Keystone Classic? Yeah, right. What rhymes with scissors? It is absurd for anyone to think that I would sully my pristine reputation with something as silly as a rap song!” Case Closed!