Gunfighter: A Modern Warrior's Life

Book Review - True Blue

Several weeks ago, the fine folks at Hachette Books were kind enough to ask me if I wanted to review an advanced copy of David Baldacci's new police mystery, entitled "True Blue".  Despite the fact that I almost never read police stories (never mind what I do for a living), I decided to give it a go.  Since today is the official release date for the book, there is no better time than now for a review.

OK, let's get to it, shall we?  I enjoyed this book.  I did... and that surprised me.  I fully expected a lot of crappy and archaic terms that someone got of a badly-made police movie from the 1950's... but that isn't what happened.  Baldacci seems to have really done his homework especially as it regards the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department.  This simple fact helped me enjoy the book more that I would have thought, because I have so many pals on the Department (special shout out to my protege M, in 1D). 

In this story, Baldacci tells the tale of Mason "Mace" Perry, a hot shot former police officer who was set-up, convicted of a crime that she did not commit, and imprisoned.  Her sister, Elizabeth, is Washington DC's Chief of Police (hello Cathy Lanier!), a true leader in this ever politicized town.  When Mace is finally released from prison, she figures that the only way she can get back on the force is to bring to justice, all of the people who set her up, thereby restoring her honor (and her eligibility to wear the blue again).  She'll have a long way to go, because as soon as she get's out people start getting murdered.

Despite her sister's repeated warnings, Mace sets out to investigate one of the murders on her own, and then she meets Ace Georgetwon lawyer Roy Kingman.  Combining forces, Mace and Roy begin to... well, I think that I will let you find out the rest on your own, but believe me when I twell you, this is where the wild ride begins! 

In this book you will find murders, police procedure, lawyers (good and bad), spies, government deception, crime in the name of  "National Security" (and haven't we had enough of that?!), corruption, and all sorts of action.

If you live in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, I think that you will enjoy the book, even though Baldacci could have been a little more descriptive of the specific locations he used to tell his story, but truthfully, I don't think that any of this impinges on the story itself.

If you like police mysteries, you'll like this book.  Give it a read, I don't think that you'll be unhappy.  As I said, today is the official relase date for the book, so it is available at local bookstores and online.

GF

Please Note:  While Hachette Books provided a copy of the book, I have not been compensated in any other way.

Movie Review: 1408

Welcome to Day 2 of my review week.  I have wanted to talk about this 2007 old-school horror flick for a while.  1408 stars John Cusack, and features Samuel L. Jackson in a strong supporting role.

The premise of this movie is fairly simple, John Enslin (Cusack), a writer who's subject in the paranormal, ghosts, spirits, hauntings, etc... finds out via an anonymous tip, about a New York hotel, one room in particular, that he won't be able to spend a night in.  Enslin, being a no-fear kind of skeptic, takes up the challenge and attempts to book that particular room.  The hotel manager, a mysterious fellow played by Samuel L. Jackson, tries to talk Enslin out of staying in that room, telling him about the number of deaths that have taken place in it over the years.  Enslin decides to go for it, and the scary ride begins.

Look, I have never been a fan of horror films, but they don't really leave me quaking in fear, either.  I'll admit that when I was a little kid, I was afraid of the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz (true story), but that's about it, and I got over that by the time I was thirty nine.  Since that time, only one other horror flick has ever... disturbed me, and that was Stephen King's "IT".  This has held true, until I saw 1408.

Like I said, the scary ride starts as soon as Enslin gets inside the room.  If you have seen this movie already, you know what kind of things happen in the film, if you haven't, I won't give everything away, but I will tell you that Enslin sees, hears, and interacts with a number of phantoms, ghosts, and really freaky electronic communications devices.  He sees and speaks to his dead father and has a heartbreaking scene with his dead daughter.

Now, there have been horror films that are much more gory than this one, in fact, this movie isn't what I could call super-bloody, but the camera-work is fantastic, the suspense is palpable, and the writing is tight.  I dare you to watch this without a significant rise in your pulse rate.

This movie is one he** of a ride, from the beginning ALL THE WAY TO THE LAST SECOND.

See it.

Gunfighter's Review Week: Cougar Town

Today is Monday, and I am officially kicking off Gunfighter's Review Week.

Gunfighter's review week? you say quizzically?  Yes.  This week... or maybe a little longer, I am going to post reviews of few television shows, movies, books and products that I have recently seen/read/purchased.  The reason for this week is to share some things with you, and/or bloat my blog with more useless drivel as I write a new post about the Use of Taser devices in the law enforcement community (and this one is bound to really anger some folks... not that I have ever been one to shrink from that). 

Oh, and guess what?  I am about to unveil my new banner!  It's gonna be really boss.  So look for that before the end of the week!

OK, enough stalling... let's get it on! (said in the voice of Mills Lane, not Marvin Gaye, which would be totally inappropriate)

Cougar Town

With the arrival of fall, we get the new crop of television shows that the networks hope that viewers will enjoy enough to boost their ratings so that they can sell more advertising time.  As usual, there are good shows, so-so shows, and shows that are absolute crap.  Let's talk about absolute crap today, shall we?

Last night (ok, it was Wednesday night, but I am trying to do some front-end loading on my blog.  I'm busy.  Sue me), I watched the third installment of ABC's "Cougar Town". 

This show is (thankfully) a 30 minute sitcom that is about the post-divorce life of a 40 year old single mother, played by Courtney Cox.  No, the show isn't about a plucky single mom, trying to get by after the bad MAN left her to support herself etc...  Quite the opposite, the show is about a 40 year old woman who despairs at the loss of her twenties, and begins to desperately try and reclaim her youth.

There are so many problems with this show that I scarcely know where to start, but I'll give it a shot: In the first episode, Cox' character, Jules, starts the show with concerns about her body image.... really?  Courtney Cox?  C'mon.  Next she is righteously indignant about the fact that her also divorced male neighbor is banging (yes, banging) a string of young one-night stands.

Jules has a (thankfully normal) teen-aged son painfully who gets through her sometimes bawdy, frequently drunken, and always embarrassing mid-life crisis-fueled behavior, by trying to ignore as much of it as he possible can.  Sometimes with the help  of his equally embarrassing, alimony-receiving father, who isn't particularly bright, nor talented, nor ambitious.

To this exciting mix, add Jules 40-something neighbor and best friend who is married, and has an infant whom she doesn't particularly like, who doesn't want Jules to go out and party with her young colleague, wishing instead that Jules would stay home and have movie nights (and wine) with her.

This show is horribly cliche, and not particularly well-done.  I won't even talk about the empowerment of women (unless being pathetic is empowering these days.  "See, it's not just men who can get laughs via promiscuity!").  It's silly.  It's sad.  It is just plain bad.

Hopefully, this show won't last through the end of the season... if you haven't seen it yet, don't waste your time.

Today is Monday, and I am officially kicking off Gunfighter's Review Week.

Gunfighter's review week? you say quizzically?  Yes.  This week... or maybe a little longer, I am going to post reviews of few television shows, movies, books and products that I have recently seen/read/purchased.  The reason for this week is to share some things with you, and/or bloat my blog with more useless drivel as I write a new post about the Use of Taser devices in the law enforcement community (and this one is bound to really anger some folks... not that I have ever been one to shrink from that). 

Oh, and guess what?  I am about to unveil my new banner!  It's gonna be really boss.  So look for that before the end of the week!

OK, enough stalling... let's get it on! (said in the voice of Mills Lane, not Marvin Gaye, which would be totally inappropriate)

Cougar Town

With the arrival of fall, we get the new crop of television shows that the networks hope that viewers will enjoy enough to boost their ratings so that they can sell more advertising time.  As usual, there are good shows, so-so shows, and shows that are absolute crap.  Let's talk about absolute crap today, shall we?

Last night (ok, it was Wednesday night, but I am trying to do some front-end loading on my blog.  I'm busy.  Sue me), I watched the third installment of ABC's "Cougar Town". 

This show is (thankfully) a 30 minute sitcom that is about the post-divorce life of a 40 year old single mother, played by Courtney Cox.  No, the show isn't about a plucky single mom, trying to get by after the bad MAN left her to support herself etc...  Quite the opposite, the show is about a 40 year old woman who despairs at the loss of her twenties, and begins to desperately try and reclaim her youth.

There are so many problems with this show that I scarcely know where to start, but I'll give it a shot: In the first episode, Cox' character, Jules, starts the show with concerns about her body image.... really?  Courtney Cox?  C'mon.  Next she is righteously indignant about the fact that her also divorced male neighbor is banging (yes, banging) a string of young one-night stands.

Jules has a (thankfully normal) teen-aged son painfully who gets through her sometimes bawdy, frequently drunken, and always embarrassing mid-life crisis-fueled behavior, by trying to ignore as much of it as he possible can.  Sometimes with the help  of his equally embarrassing, alimony-receiving father, who isn't particularly bright, nor talented, nor ambitious.

To this exciting mix, add Jules 40-something neighbor and best friend who is married, and has an infant whom she doesn't particularly like, who doesn't want Jules to go out and party with her young colleague, wishing instead that Jules would stay home and have movie nights (and wine) with her.

This show is horribly cliche, and not particularly well-done.  I won't even talk about the empowerment of women (unless being pathetic is empowering these days.  "See, it's not just men who can get laughs via promiscuity!").  It's silly.  It's sad.  It is just plain bad.

Hopefully, this show won't last through the end of the season... if you haven't seen it yet, don't waste your time.

CD Review: KISS - Sonic Boom

A new KISS album?  After all this time?  Oh HELL YEAH!

Let me tell you the story.  I was filing some paperwork in the office yesterday, and listening to one of Washington DC's last rock & roll radio stations when I heard it announced the KISS would be playing a concert at the Verizon Center.  I immediately announced to one of my colleagues that I was going... which made him laugh "Really Bill?  a KISS concert?  I suppose you'll be going to WalMart to get their new album tonight".  The truth is, I had no idea that KISS had released a new album.  I seldom listen to the radio and I pay little attention to music industry news, so I hadn't heard anything about the concert or the album.

As soon as I was finished shuffling paper, I called Mrs. Gunfighter and asked if she wanted to go to the concert and got the response I expected:  A laugh followed by "um... NO!"  Not to be put off, I decided that she would get 24 hrs to change her mind before I bought a ticket to go ALONE (I hope you are feeling guilty, sweetheart.... sending me off to Rock  Roll All Nite... by myself).  As I write this, she has about 4 hours to recant.

Anyway, feeling good about myself, I went home in the afternoon, got a haircut, picked up soccergirl from swimming, got her home to finish her homework, gave her a snack, an was about to whisk her off to Girl Scouts, when Mrs. GF came home.  The Mrs. decided to come to Scouts with us, so after dropping SG at the meeting, we decided to kill an hour at WalMart, where I immediately snapped up the new KISS album; Sonic Boom.

A lengthy intro, I know... but I'm not just an aging KISS fan, I'm also a middle-aged suburban dad who blogs, what do you want?

When I got in my car to head into work on this fine morning, I loaded the new CD into the player, to rock out while I made the I-95 trek with the other Lemmings.  Let me tell you, I got no surprises.

Look, KISS is a party band... a stadium band.  They play rock and roll right out of the 1970's because that's where their roots are... and that's where most of their fans are from.  They didn't disappoint me.  Now, I don't think that this effort is going to garner them any timeless gems like "Calling Dr. Love" (which I am listening to as I write this)or the anthemic "Rock & Roll All Nite", but that doesn't mean that the album is no good.  Quite the contrary, it is good.  The music is good, lyrics are good, and the vocals are good... this is classic KISS, and I love it.

I suppose it is easy to believe that I would give the album a glowing review just because I was in my teens at the height of KISS's success... that I would give them a pass for nostalgia's sake in some sort of pathetic grasp at my youth, but I hope you know me better than that.  The bottom line is that, if you are a KISS fan, or ever were a KISS fan, this album won't disappoint you.  If you've never listened to a KISS album before, this is good a place as any to start.

NOTE:  I would have included an image but the new Typepad image up-loader is still in Beta, and it really sucks!

Hitler's War - A Book Review

Dear Dr. Turtledove,

I have been reading your books with great joy for nearly twenty years.  The first book of yours that I read was the wonderful "Guns of The South".  That started my journey through your work that, up until fairly recently I have enjoyed immensely.  Since 1992, I have taken one of your novels (whichever is most recent at the time) on vacation when my wife and I would travel to someplace away from our busy lives,and spend days having the time to read quietly... whether it was on the sandy white beaches of Montego Bay Jamaica (which is where I read the first two Worldwar novels), or Disney World, where I just finished reading "Htiler's War".  Your books were always a great avenue for my interest in history as well as the fanciful, and well-researched and thought-out alternatives of the way things could have been.

I wish that I could say that I loved you most recent effort, but that would be dishonest.  To be blunt, sir, this story, while starting at an interesting point, was formulaic to the point of being repetitive crap.  Your point-of-view characters all sound identical to each other, and identical to so many other characters in your other novels. 

I always had the impression that you used the similarities of your characters as a vehicle to illustrate the sameness of humanity, no matter our religion, nationality, or social status, but it has come to the point of tedium.

In this particular novel, the characters were so thin, they may as well been made of tissue paper.  The plot, which should have been interesting, is plodding.  The arc of the story was hollow.  I realize that this will turn into another long series in which you take three or four volumes to tell the tale, but I shan't be reading the rest.  I shan't finish because I don't think that you care.  Either you don't care about getting this story told, or your publisher just wants to drag things out... which would explain the ending of "Hitler's War".

I am fully aware, Dr. Turtledove, that you are a professional writer, and as such, you need to write regularly to make a living.  I appreciate that, but I wish I had the impression that you were at least making something of an effort to entertain your fans.

In the past several years, you have retold the American Civil War in several different ways.  Likewise the Second World War ad nauseum.  Perhaps it is time to write about something else. 

Cordially,

Gunfighter

Star Trek: A Review

As I began to type this, on Sunday evening,  we had only just returned from seeing the new Star Trek movie.  I’m not ashamed to tell you that I am an exceptionally happy middle aged geek!

By now, you may have heard the movie praised by the usual suspects:  jaded reviewers who enjoyed the visuals or the slam-bang action; the purists who enjoyed the fact the Enterprise had the appropriate hull number (NC-1701);  time-travel fans who found no fault with the way that potential paradox was handled; and young fans who don’t remember the original show in the first place.  I’m here to tell a different tale… maybe.

For me, Star Trek was a coming home experience.  Yeah, that’s what I said.  If you have been with me for a while, you know that I was practically raised by a television.  You also know that Captain James T. Kirk was a life-long role model for me.  To see my old friend and mentor, Captain Kirk in action again would heave been reason enough to give this movie the highest of praise, but I can’t, in any honesty, stop there. 

This is the Star Trek movie that I  have been waiting for since 1979, when I was 15.  That was when the original (lame-ass) Star Trek: The Motion Picture was released.  This new film  satisfied where so many of the other Star Trek movies were mere parodies of themselves (or dead-boring, like the first one).

I have to admit that I was as skeptical as any other fanboy over the fact that there was going to be a new, young, unknown James Kirk, but I am here to tell you that I was not disappointed. 

This movie was nicely filmed, as you would expect of any highly anticipated, big-budget summer blockbuster, and the special effects were pretty good, too, but not so spectacular that they deserve their own review.  The story was good, too, not that I am going to do spoilers here, I’m not.  I will say this:  This movie was tightly written, and the cast was great!
 

 

With the cast being led by Chris Pine, who played the brash, impetuous, womanizing Kirk, and being incredibly well-supported by Zachary Quinto as a young, emotional Spock, and Zoe Saldana as Uhuru (who has a surprising role to play!).  How could you have anything less than a... well... stellar (yeah, I know) movie experience.  Add to all of this, the inclusion of an actor who did such a credible job of playing Dr. McCoy, and you are set up for a good time, no matter what.

The story itself?  It was good enough.  It was interesting... not too simple, but not so complex as to give you a headache.  This is true space opera, which is what star trek always was.

One of the other things that you have to love about this movie is that it is almost... almost a total homage to decades of Trek geeks AND those who have and made fun of them us.  The Bones McCoy character shouting "Spock!  Are you out of your Vulcan mind?", Kirk shagging the green chick, and so many other things, made this movie even that much better.

I loved this movie... it took me back to late Saturday afternoons, watching Star Trek after a long day of swimming and water polo at the local Boy's Club when I was 12  It brought me more than just an entertaining two hours, it brought me something that movies seldom do: 

It brought me joy. 

It brought me happy memories of an otherwise troubled time.

It reminded me of a time when I still believed that I could boldly go wehere no one had gone before (oh, quit groaning)

It has been nearly 48 hours now, and I am still grinning.  How's that for good?

I think that you should go see this movie.  Taken on all of it's merits, you'll love it, even if you aren't a huge Star Trek fan.

Live long, & prosper!

CD Review: Adele "19"

You know, every once in a while... and by that I mean rarely, I am totally blown away by talented musicians.  This is one such instant.

Here we have British newcomer Adele.  She isn't glamorous.  She isn't packaged.  She isn't the picture of pop stardom... but what she has that so many other performers lack is raw talent.  This young woman has talent in spades.  She sings with depth and emotion; she sometimes accompanies herself on the guitar; and she is a songwriter.

Not terribly long ago, the music world was abuzz about the soulful talents of another English vocalist named Amy Winehouse, but the buzz has died down because of that singer's tumultuous train wreck of a life.  None of that from Adele, thank you very much.  This young Londoner seems grounded in her family, and truly appears to have herself together.  She doesn't come across as being dazzled by new-found fame, or seem to be too taken with the fact that America has, once again, fallen in love with a British chanteuse who looks like she has the chops to go the distance.

On her album "19" Adele sings songs that range from the ballad "Daydreamer" to to the Grammy Award winning "Chasing Pavements" to the I-dare-you-to-sit-still "Right As Rain".  The songs, all (except one) writtern (or co-written) by Adele, are tightly done, and beautifully arranged. 

Since I don't really listen to Top 40 radio, I had not yet heard of this young woman before I saw her on Saturday Night Live a couple of months ago.  I enjoyed her performance, but I didn't really give her a second thought until she performed on the Grammy Awards show earlier this month.  Fast forward to this past Sunday, when Mrs. Gunfighter bought the cd while we were at Borders.  Since then, I have listened to the recording several times (I'm listening to it as I type this), and I have to say that it just keeps getting better.

Adele will be starting a tour of the United States in March, and if you happen to live anywhere reasonably near one of the scheduled venues, I recommend that you go see her.

I'm done praising this cd, and I am done praising this singer, because I have a class to teach in 27 minutes.  So here is the low-down:  Buy this cd and give a listen, you'll be glad you did.  Better yet, buy this cd, put your children to bed, listen to it with someone you love.  You (and that someone) will both be better for it.

Product Review - The Peek

This year, I wanted to do something really nice for my wife on Valentine's Day. It's not I don't normally do something nice, but I am usually a schmaltzy-card-and-expensive-chocolate kind of guy. This year I wanted to give my wife a present that would be cool, useful, and completely surprise her.

After a bit of deliberation, I figured out what it would be: a smartphone! smartphones are cool, aren't they?, I know that they can be useful, and I know that it would completely surprise her. So I went and looked at various smartphones. They had touchscreens, email, web-browsers and all the other bells and whistles that I could ask for... they also cost a couple hundred dollars. Well, it isn't like I'm a tightwad or anything, I could afford to buy her one of those things, but while the cost of the gadget was one thing, the service plans were quite another. No thanks.

What to do?

Well, the answer was simplicity in itself. I went to my local Target store and purchased The Peek!

The Peek is an email device that will allow you to recieve email from as many as three different personal email addresses. It doen't browse the web. It doesn't include a GPS beacon, It doesn't remind you to pick up your kids from their horseback lessons. Most importantly, it doesn't try to do all of these things and be a telephone, too.

The Peek is the email device for everyone. It is well designed, simple to operate, incredibly easy to set up, and best of all, there is no service contract and you get unlimited emailing service for $20 per month!

Some of you, by now are sitting at your desk, muttereing about your smartphone saying: "Yeah but I can text with my smartphone!" Sure, you can do that, but you can do that with The Peek as well. If you use some online applications, you can even blog from your Peek!

The Peek is thin, fits well in your hand, and the screen is large enough to see well, even if your eyes are not as young as they used to be... like mine. The Peek is the device to have if you just want away-from-home access to your email, and you already have a cellular phone. It's the gadget that even non-techie types will love. As a matter of fact, The Peek was selected as "Gadget of The Year" for 2008

Right, so it's functional, comes in cool colors (I have the charcoal, Mrs Gunfighter has the cherry), it's easy to set up, award-winning and doesn't cost much to operate. All of those things are good news. Now let me give you one more piece of good news: The Peek, which normally sells for $100, is now on sale for $49.95.

That's right, $49.95... Compare that to the popular smartphones or blueberry devices out there.

Go out and get one of these things, and then get one for your sweetie. You'll be glad you did!

The Peek is available at all Target stores, Amazon.com, and getpeek.com

CD Review: Tom Jones - 24 Hours

Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Tom Jones!

I'm cutting to the chase:  Tom Jones has a lot to teach the current generation of pop stars.  He sings with range that today's singers can't hope to match.  He sings with control, he sings with emotion, he sings with joy.

This CD isn't just good, it's great.  Jones hits the ground running and doesn't slow down.  Right out of the gate, Tom lays it down in grand, powerful style.  At age 68, Jones sings like a man half his age.  There are a couple of songs on this CD that I'm not thrilled with, but to tell you the truth, the whole is certainly much, much, better than it's parts.

Here is the thing about Tom Jones that has endured through a career that has spanned four decades.  Tom Jones sings like a man.  Not just a man, though.  Tom Jones sings like an alpha male.  His style is sexually confident, and he is unapologetic about it.  Tom Jones' musical style is strong and his powers are completely undiminished.

If you are a fan of powerful, masculine, vocal tracks, delivered with a retro feel that is, at the same time, very much "today", you'll love this CD.

In today's world of girly-man singers, it's nice to know that at least Tom Jones still refuses to compromise.

The Bush Administration: A Review

A great day for America.   Barack Hussein Obama is the 44th President of the United States. 

 

If you don't mind, I'll quote President Gerald Ford and say that "our long national nightmare is over".

 

I will try to refrain from over-sentimentalizing, but I am certain that it won't shock you to know that I am excited.  Excited for our future.  Excited about the possibilities that this day means.  Excited for my daughters, excited for my Grandmother, and excited for my parents.  I'm Excited for my ancestors... all of my ancestors, black and white.  I am excited for America.

 

I have no illusions that with the inauguration of President Obama, everything that is wrong in this country will be put right by next week.  I have no illusions that with the ascension of Barack Obama that everything wrong in this country will change... even in the long term.  I remain excited, nonetheless, because in electing Obama, this country has showed, enthusiastically, that it has reached a tipping point.  We, the people, have had enough bad leadership from our government.

We have, by electing this man to be our leader, taken a positive step in restoring sane, responsible government.  This isn't a matter of Right v. Left, nor of Democrats v. Republicans, as much as it is about making wrong things right.

 

Over the past eight years, a particular faction of anti-democratic reactionaries have run roughshod over the government of the United States.  The government of, by, and for the people has been mightily abused and as a result, the American people have been mightily abused.

These reactionaries spent the past eight years making our national treasury the playground of largesse for any corporation or conglomerate seeking to make money... taxpayer's money, in the name of "privatization".  These evil men and women engaged in the political sleight of hand of deceit and deception, and fooled the people, at least for a while, into believing that the "party of fiscal responsibility" could fight two wars, improve schools and infrastructure, create something close to a balanced budget, and cut taxes all at the same time, and maintain solvency.

While these governmental pirates had their snouts deep in the trough of Midas and were busy bribingdistracting the ever-shrinking middle class with "stimulus" checks, they were busy molesting our Constitution in ever more vile ways.   These people treated our laws with no less brutality than that of a dark-alley rapist, with secret prisons, torture, warrantless searches, indefinite detention without trials or even charges.  This sort of thing is wrong in any circumstances, but it is thrice-damned when you consider that these things were also done to American citizens.

The Bush administration, at the direction of their leader, and with the collusion of their party affiliates, instigated and initiated a war of aggression against a sovereign nation that wasn't a threat to this country, our way of life, or our economy.  This war destroyed a nation, made it less safe and opened that country to internecine religious strife, which, until our intervention, it had never seen on this scale in modern times.  Without the slightest compunction, our country, being led by the criminal clique of George W. Bush, and his lick-spittle sycophants, began a bloodletting unequaled in modern western military history.  A bloodletting that didn't have to happen, that was based on distortions, lies, and outright crimes.  A war that has resulted in hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths, thousands of American and allied military deaths, and untold thousands of wounded soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines.

Anyone who is reading this knows that Bush and his quasi-fascist gang of Constitutional thugs were unpopular, that fact became abundantly clear early in their time of national control, but they didn't care.  We don't like the law? Don't even bother to change it... let's get our pet lawyers to write something that says it doesn't pertain to the Executive Branch.  Don't like the fact that the Attorney General is being investigated for crimes in office?  Have him refuse to answer questions put forth by Senate committees.  Don't like the treaties that we are signatory to? Ignore them?

George W. Bush wasn't content to flout the laws of this nation, no indeed, his domestic policies regarding education, in the form of the "No Child Left Behind" act, took measures that could potentially cripple already struggling public school systems.  Mr. Bush's one-size-fits-all view of education started and ended with teaching students to pass standardized tests, which is fine on it's face, but fails to take into account that if all you are doing is teaching to a testing standard, you are failing to educate the whole child.  Further, the "No Child Left Behind" initiative was basically a cover for attacking public schools in general and public school teachers and their Unions in particular.  The idea here is that the more blame and scorn we can heap on public schools, the more money the government could take away from public education in order to fund private schools, which does nothing for the education of children in either public or private school. 

All of this was done in the name of "school choice" which is just another name for segregation.

The list of crimes and nefarious activities of the Bush administration is long.  Certainly too long to be properly enumerated here, but I have to tell you that, Mr Bush and his people were out of control from start to finish.  Their leadership was a a nightmarish exercise in failure. 

Failure.

Failure of leadership.  Failure of good citizenship.  Failure in every single aspect of governance.  Mostly, the Bush administration was a textbook example of the failure of character.

Welcome, Mr. Bush, to the ash-heap of history.