The number one single today in 1968:
The number one single today in 1971 is …
Britain’s number one single today in 1985:
Today in 1997, Danbert Nobacon of Chumbawamba was arrested and jailed overnight in Italy for … wearing a skirt.
Something called the DJ Rio Blog demonstrates that those singers we of the ’80s listened to have, in some cases, aged quite gracefully.
The photos contrast with the videos from my favorite work (in some cases, the only song you’ve ever heard of) of each:
That’s what Reason.com calls Pope Francis‘ anti-capitalism statement:
Pope Francis’ Evangelii Gaudium about the “new tyranny” of “unfettered capitalism” might just be the biggest thing to hit the lefty blogosphere since Mitt Romney uttered the instantly immortal, irrelevant phrase “binders full of women.” …
I don’t wish to stand in the way of people enjoying other people’s prejudices, but Francis’s hyperbolic rants about the role and allegedly dictatorial power of free markets are embarrassing in their wrongness. Cheering them on is like donating money to a Creationist Museum, only with more potential impact. To take one papal passage out of dozens:
Today everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. As a consequence, masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalized: without work, without possibilities, without any means of escape.
More people have escaped poverty the past 25 years than werealive on the planet in 1800. Their “means of escape” was largely the introduction of at least some “laws of competition” in endeavors that had long been the exclusive domain of authoritarian, monopolistic governments. Here’s The Economist:
In 1990, 43% of the population of developing countries lived in extreme poverty (then defined as subsisting on $1 a day); the absolute number was 1.9 billion people. By 2000 the proportion was down to a third. By 2010 it was 21% (or 1.2 billion; the poverty line was then $1.25, the average of the 15 poorest countries’ own poverty lines in 2005 prices, adjusted for differences in purchasing power). The global poverty rate had been cut in half in 20 years.
The country that cut poverty the most was China, which in 1980 had the largest number of poor people anywhere. China saw a huge increase in income inequality—but even more growth. Between 1981 and 2010 it lifted a stunning 680m people out poverty—more than the entire current population of Latin America. This cut its poverty rate from 84% in 1980 to about 10% now. China alone accounts for around three quarters of the world’s total decline in extreme poverty over the past 30 years. …
To look upon the miracles of this world and lament the lack of “means of escape” is to advertise your own ignorance. To call it a “tyranny” is to do violence to any meaningful sense of that important word (much like Francis’s predecessor did with his silly “dictatorship of relativism” crack). And to make such absolutist statements as “everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest” is to admit up front that you are not primarily interested in spreading truth, but rather in exciting popular passions. Which I suppose makes sense.
It’s a free world; Pope’s gonna Pope & all that. I don’t go to the Vatican for global economics, and Catholics probably don’t seek out Reason for spiritual guidance. And the new kid in the Vatican actually seems pretty good to my outsider eyes. But prejudice against global capitalism isn’t some kind of twee affect coming from the mouth of one of the globe’s largest religious institutions. It’s an out-and-out attempt to rewrite measurable history to fit theological imperatives. Liberals who congratulate themselves on mocking creationists while co-signing factually laughable claims about the world they actually live in are not exactly demonstrating a consistent adherence to the Scientific Method.
As a former Catholic, I wonder how this is going to go over in churches when the priest starts his church’s annual stewardship campaign.
The number one single today in 1969 reached number one because of both sides:
The number one album today in 1986 was Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s “Live/1975–85”:
Today is one of the great NFL traditions that I wish the Packers were a permanent part of — the Thanksgiving Day game in Detroit.
The Packers used to play the Lions in Detroit (or Pontiac after and before) on Thanksgiving until 1962, when the Packers’ only loss was that game. Vince Lombardi decided to end the tradition after that, which seems like an uncharacteristic-for-Lombardi thing to do, to wriggle out of a challenge.
Not many fans may realize this, but Lions vs. Packers is the NFL’s longest continuously played rivalry, with twice-yearly meetings since 1932. Yes, the Packers have played Da Bears longer, but the NFL strike in 1982 wiped out that season’s Bears–Packers meetings.
The Lions have done better on Thanksgiving than on days not named Thanksgiving for several years. Which makes, according to Bleacher Report, the Packers a bigger rival for the Lions than the other two NFC North teams:
What do the following things all have in common? The Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field, Ahman Green, Donald Driver, Charles Woodson, Jordy Nelson and freakin’ Samkon Gado!
They’re all part of Green Bay Packers lore, and they’ve all killed the Detroit Lions at one time or another.
Of course, all those names are from the last 20 years. The truth is, the Green Bay Packers have been dominating the Lions much longer than that. …
The overall record is 98-65-7 in favor of Green Bay, and the Pack have outscored the Lions by nearly 1,000 points in those games.
Even worse, they are 2-0 in the postseason against the hapless Lions. …
A history of butt-whoopings isn’t the only reason why, either.
The Packers Have What Lions Fans Want
I’m not talking about Super Bowl wins; I’ll get to that later. What the Packers have that Lions fans want is myth, legend and historical significance.
They have a myriad of Hall of Famers who helped make the NFL what it is today. Vince Lombardi, Ray Nitschke, Bart Starr and Reggie White all had huge impacts on the NFL.
Lombardi’s speeches will live forever. Nitschke typified the kind of hard-nosed never-say-die player every team wanted. Defensive ends will be trying to emulate White’s powerful pass rush forever.
The Lions have no such players in their history. Bobby Layne is more famous for the curse he put on the Lions when he left than for what he did when he played.
Alex Karras is more famous for his work on television and in film than for playing football in Detroit.
Then there’s Barry Sanders. He’s one player Lions fans could always hang their hat on. Arguably the greatest running back in NFL history, he chose retirement over playing out his career in Detroit. …
Even on the rare occasion when the Lions steal a win from them, like in 2010, there’s always an asterisk. In this case, Aaron Rodgers was knocked out of the game. So the Lions’ 7-3 victory actually turned into a negative.
The Packers were without their best player and the Lions managed to beat them by only four points?
Regardless, it’s the losses that chap the you-know-what of Lions’ fans, and there are three particular games that stand out.
In 1993, the Lions finished 10-6 and beat the Packers in the last game of the season. They won home-field advantage in the playoffs, and fans were going crazy. Sanders, Herman Moore and Rodney Peete were poised to make a playoff run.
Unfortunately, they had to play the Packers again in the first round. Any knucklehead could tell you the Lions’ chances of beating them twice in a row were slim to none. The Pack knocked the Lions out of the playoffs by the score 28-24.
Dreams were dashed.
The following season, the Lions were riding a wave of positive energy from the previous year’s playoff berth. They went 9-7 and reached the playoffs for the second straight year.
That year would be different, right?
Wrong. The Packers held Sanders to minus-1 yard rushing and the Lions to minus-4 yards rushing as a team. The Lions lost 16-12, but it was how the game ended that really boiled fans’ blood.
The Packers intentionally took a safety to run out the clock and seal the victory. That’s bush league and made Lions fans all the more irate.
Finally, the Packers had the pleasure of putting the final nail in the coffin of the worst season in NFL history. They beat the Lions 31-21 on December 28, 2008 and the Lions finished 0-16.
It was painful for fans to watch the Lions go winless, but to lose the final game to the Packers was excruciating.
And the Lions haven’t won at Lambeau Field since 1991.
Adding spice to today’s battle of two teams within one-half game of each other in the NFC North are the comments of Packers offensive lineman Josh Sitton, as reported by Lombardi Avenue:
It probably wasn’t the best timing and probably not the best thing to say two days before a big game but that clearly didn’t matter to Green Bay Packers left Pro-Bowl guard Josh Sitton.
He went on the air today with @GaryEllerson and the @1250WSSP, and was just being Josh … honesty is the best policy – even though it will certainly lead to bulletin board material for the Detroit Lions.
Sitton should know. He plays against those guys twice a year and doesn’t mince words when he talks about the opposition. When it comes to the Lions, it’s not a secret. They are dirty. They do everything they can to get to the quarterback. They do everything they can to hurt the quarterback and when Sitton was asked if the Lions would go after Aaron Rodgers (or whomever is playing quarterback for the Packers), here’s what he had to say:
“Absolutely. I don’t think there’s any question about that. They go after quarterbacks. Their entire defense takes cheap shots all the time, that’s what they do, that’s who they are. They’re a bunch of dirtbags, or scumbags. I mean, that’s how they play.”
He wasn’t done either.
He also told us something about from where the attitude stems:
“It starts with their frickin’ coach. Starts with the head coach. Schwartz, he’s a (expletive), too, I wouldn’t want to play for him. … Starts with him, their D-coordinator and their D-line coach. They’re all just scumbags, and so are the D-line.”
He’s right.
The Lions play a game of pain. Their game is to inflict pain any way they can. When they have a coach who can’t even shake an opposing coach’s hand after a game without chasing him down because his ego was bruised, you can see how that attitude would be reflected by the players who play for him.
The reaction, one day later:
You heard them, I heard them, the Lions heard them and head coach Mike McCarthy heard them … did he care and does it really matter?
Well, here’s how McCarthy reacted this morning when asked about it:
“I heard about them. Really, when matters like that happen with the media, the only thing I ask our players is to not create questions for everybody else in the locker room. Those comments did not create that.”
That’s because everyone, including McCarthy, knows that what Sitton said was spot-on. They ARE scumbags and their style of play only backs that up. McCarthy didn’t say it in those words, but his comment and reaction only solidifies Sitton’s comments.
Whether it’s bulletin board material or not doesn’t matter at this level of the game. They are all professionals and will go out and play like their next paycheck depends upon it. But watching the line play will be interesting … in fact watching the action after plays will be even more interesting. That’s when the dirty work gets done by the scumbags.
The number one single today in 1960:
The number one (for the second time) single today in 1963:
The number one single today in 1964:
The number one British single today in 1970:
Today in 1991, Nirvana did perhaps the worst lip-synching effort of all time of its “Smells Like Teen Spirit” for the BBC’s “Top of the Pops”:
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel apparently read Unintimidated, Scott Walker’s Recallarama memoir, and its mention of a David Letterman-style top 10 list:
According to the governor’s new book, Walker read the list — written by author and commentator Rod Pennington — to put his staff at ease during the union-led protests at the Capitol in 2011. Here’s the list, which appeared on the Daily Caller website on Feb. 21, 2011:
10.) You take a week off to protest in Wisconsin and your office runs better.
9.) On a snow day when they say “non-essential” people should stay home you know who they mean.
8.) You get paid twice as much as a private sector person doing the same job but make up the difference by doing half as much work.
7.) It takes longer to fire you than the average killer spends on death row.
6.) The worse you do your job, the more your boss avoids you.
5.) You think the French are working themselves to death.
4.) You know by having a copy of the Holy Koran on your desk your job is 100% safe.
3.) You spend more time at protest marches than at church.
2.) You have a Democratic congressman’s lips permanently attached to your butt.
1.) You pay more in union dues than you do for your health care insurance. …
According to the governor’s new book, Walker read the list — written by author and commentator Rod Pennington — to put his staff at ease during the union-led protests at the Capitol in 2011. Here’s the list, which appeared on the Daily Caller website on Feb. 21, 2011:
10.) You take a week off to protest in Wisconsin and your office runs better.
9.) On a snow day when they say “non-essential” people should stay home you know who they mean.
8.) You get paid twice as much as a private sector person doing the same job but make up the difference by doing half as much work.
7.) It takes longer to fire you than the average killer spends on death row.
6.) The worse you do your job, the more your boss avoids you.
5.) You think the French are working themselves to death.
4.) You know by having a copy of the Holy Koran on your desk your job is 100% safe.
3.) You spend more time at protest marches than at church.
2.) You have a Democratic congressman’s lips permanently attached to your butt.
1.) You pay more in union dues than you do for your health care insurance. …
In a radio interview Nov. 21 on “The Devil’s Advocates Radio show (WXXM-FM 92.1 in Madison), Marty Beil called the list racist and disrespectful.
“His editor had to say to him, ‘You shouldn’t have put that in there,’” Beil said. Beil is executive director of Madison-based Council 24 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. …
Pennington, the writer of the list, is the author of the “Fourth Awakening” series.
His columns for The Daily Caller, a conservative news and opinion site, often include top 10 lists. Another was “The 10 things Obama will look for in a new secretary of state.” In that column, Pennington noted that “Hillary Clinton has announced that she will not serve a second term as President Obama’s secretary of state. Here are the top ten things Obama will look for in her replacement.
His first entry:
1.) See if any of the Wisconsin Democratic state senators are available. They already fully grasp the concept of “cut and run,” so there would be a smooth transition period.
If there is one person in Wisconsin whose opinion means less to me than Beil’s (his last name, by the way, is pronounced: BILE), that person doesn’t come to mind. Not knowing how much union dues are, or where they’re specifically spent (safe answer: union management salaries), the half of number one that refers to benefit costs and number eight are correct. So is number seven.
As for the sense of humor displayed, Democrats and liberals make fun of Republicans and conservatives all the time, and often in more pejorative and nastier terms than these.
The number one album today in 1965 was Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass’ “Whipped Cream and Other Delights”:
The number one single today in 1966 was this one-hit wonder:
The number one British album today in 1976 was Glen Campbell’s “20 Golden Greats”:
Fifty years ago today was one day after John F. Kennedy’s funeral, and two days before Thanksgiving.
You may have been able to tell my ambivalence about Kennedy and his assassination and legacy from the previous week of posts. On the one hand, since my days at John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Madison, I’ve been interested in Kennedy, and since I became a media geek, I’ve been fascinated at how the Kennedy assassination was covered by this new thing called TV news.
Perhaps the reactions of some to his death are understandable given that no president had been assassinated in the memory of almost everyone alive in 1963. (William McKinley was assassinated in 1901.) Franklin Roosevelt died 18 years earlier, but the better comparison in terms of trauma wasn’t FDR’s death but the Pearl Harbor attack Dec. 7, 1941. (Too few people will remember that a week from Saturday.)
On the other hand, the term “revisionist history” must have been created for, if not by, Kennedy’s postmortem myth-makers, Jackie Kennedy, speechwriter Ted Sorenson, and historian Theodore S. White. The past week has demonstrated that many people who lived through Kennedy’s assassination haven’t let reality get in the way of their memories about how inspiring he was, because apparently a lot of Baby Boomers needed to be inspired by someone in authority.
Everything people who were alive when Kennedy died knows what they remember from the coverage of a sycophantic news media that covered up pertinent information like his health. (As for his extramarital flings, I pose a question I asked in print about Bill Clinton’s extramarital flings: If someone is willing to violate vows made before God and man, why should he be trusted in anything else?)
What we know about Kennedy is less than we think we know. From all accounts, he was an actual war hero to the survivors of his PT boat. He apparently volunteered for active Navy duty in spite of his father’s efforts (which were successful with his two younger brothers) to get him cushy desk duty for the duration of World War II. And we have barely 1,000 days of presidency, which followed a House and Senate career with his friend, Sen. Joe McCarthy. (Yes, that McCarthy.) He looked and sounded like the president people wanted, but image and reality are not the same thing.
I read a blog that claimed that after the Cuban Missile Crisis he was much more interested in peace with the Soviet Union and looking to get the U.S. disentangled from Vietnam. The evidence on each is unpersuasive. He started the Peace Corps, and Peace Corps volunteers would say that was worthwhile. Everything else — civil rights, tax cuts and the space program come to mine — were accomplishments of his successor, Lyndon Baines Johnson, or overstatements in terms of JFK’s actual interest in them. And in reality, whatever he did in terms of curbing the Soviets was insufficient to actually defeating the Soviets, and that took until the 1980s and presidents determined to end the Soviet Union.
So we’re left with image and memory of a time people who were alive then think was simpler. (The past is always simpler than the present, and the future seems simpler than the present.) Maybe he was a good father, but a good father doesn’t play around on his children’s mother. Kennedy simply wasn’t president long enough to have a significant record. When, early in NBC-TV’s coverage on Nov. 22, 1963, Chet Huntley said “this is no time for speculation; facts are all that are warranted,” he was right then and now. Kennedy’s myth machine created Camelot, based on a Broadway play that, like much of Kennedy’s presidency, was fiction.
One wonders when we’re going to grow up and stop looking to politicians for inspiration that should come from elsewhere, or nowhere. Politicians, whether Democratic (Barack Obama, Tammy Baldwin, whichever Democrat is going to lose to Scott Walker next year) or Republican (Walker, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul) or nonpartisan, are interested in preserving and increasing their own power first and foremost. (One word: Watergate.) Everything a politician has, in terms of power, is taken from you. Those are cynical statements. John F. Kennedy was a cynic.
Steve Prestegard.com: The Presteblog 