The Awful Aughts

I'm running across a label for the years 2000-2009 that I like: the Awful Aughts. A decade that begins with 9/11 and ends with recession and the government screwing up health care can fairly be called "awful."

A Google search reveals the earliest usage is this April, 2003, article by Paul R. La Monica on CNNMoney.com. It says:

The stock [Netflix] has been a rarity of the financial markets so far during these awful Aughts, a successful Internet IPO.

Barring discovery of an earlier source, I will give credit for the phrase to La Monica.