2008 was a weird year. Banks closed, old and familiar businesses closed, people lost their houses and their jobs en masse, gas prices went through the roof (for really NO frigging reason), pirates stormed the seas (actually that part was really kinda cool - do you know if any of them had parrots and said "aye matie"?) But there were some things I'd definitely like to wipe from my memory and some that I just find annoying and would like them to go away but know that they won't. My top 20 are below. There are MANY others but I am sure there is a limit as to the amount of space one can use on this site so maybe I'd better just limit my selection. Enjoy.
20. That Dunkin' Donuts pulled an ad with Rachel Ray because the wingnuts convinced them she was wearing a terrorist scarf.
19. That Dick Cheney still doesn't believe waterboarding is torture.
18. The young college Republican who claimed an Obama supporter had carved a backwards "B" into her cheek. And I would particularly like to forget that so many in the media gave so much play to Ashley's tale.
17. Sarah Palin's belief that there is a "real America" and "pro-America areas" of America.
16. That George Bush blames the economic meltdown on the fact that Wall Street got drunk," but never admits it was his administration that made the last eight years Happy Hour, and kept serving up the drinks. NOW do you all remember when he was running for office and I kept telling anyone who would listen "if he can't run a bloody bank that his daddy bought him without it going under, how in the hell do you think he can run a country???" Does ANYONE remember me saying that????? Well, I did.
15. The $440,000 spa trip taken by AIG "top performers" a week after the company received an $85 billion bailout from taxpayers.
14. That China felt compelled to have a nine-year-old girl lip-sync "Ode to the Motherland" during the Olympic Opening Ceremonies because the seven-year-old girl who had actually sang the song wasn't considered cute enough.
13. OJ's rambling plea for leniency.
12. Thomas Beatie, The Pregnant Man. That Thomas Beatie is preggers again. If he/she wants to be a man TAKE OUT THE PLUMBING YOU FREAK. Yes, I realize fully that I just acted in a very immature and totally politically incorrect fashion. However, I just don't give a shit, THIS PERSON IS A FREAK!
11. That Scott McClellan joined the parade of key Bush administration officials who have tried to wash the blood off their hands -- and add a chunk of change to their bank account -- by writing a come-clean book years after the fact instead of when it actually could have made a difference.
10. Movies:
Love Guru (ugh),
Fool's Gold (hate Kate Hudson - tired of looking at Matthew shirtless - NEVER thought I'd ever say that),
88 Minutes (Al Pacino is a God but what was he thinking? Is he that in need of money??),
The Happening (the ending of this movie PISSED ME OFF! To sit through this movie and deal with the good actors acting badly - really badly - and then to be thanked by the "wrap it up quick and let's go to lunch" ending was maddening),
Religulous (I thought I was going to see a movie that would encourage debate over the subject of religion but what I got was an intolerant rant about how religious people are idiots and should be shunned and made fun of - like a Pat Robertson movie only this time he is an atheist. Now I hate organized religion as much, if not more, than the next guy/girl but even I was offended),
The Air that I Breathe (GREAT cast - I LOVE Kevin Bacon, Andy Garcia, Forest Whitaker, Emile Hirsch but "Mr. Scandal free, all American boy" Brendan Fraser as a thug??? That should sum up this movie in a nutshell)
9. The entire Caylee Anthony thing. God love her.
8. Al Sharpton (this is a yearly thing - I put him in my list every year because I loathe the man)
7. Star Jones and anyone else associated with (past or present) the View. That includes Barbara Wa-wa.
6. Tina Fey. Can someone PLEASE offer her a job in another country far, far away? Please.
5. Nancy Grace - Is she really a much meaner Pat Robertson in drag???? She scares me.
4. SPAM - please stop!!!
3. War in Iraq.
2. the closing of Yankee Stadium (whoever thought that was a good idea needs to shot!)
and my number 1,
1. With the approval of Congress and no outcry from corporate media, the Military Commissions Act (MCA) signed by Bush on October 17, 2006, ushered in military commission law for US citizens and non-citizens alike. While media, including a lead editorial in the New York Times October 19, have given false comfort that we, as American citizens, will not be the victims of the draconian measures legalized by this Act—such as military roundups and life-long detention with no rights or constitutional protections—Robert Parry points to text in the MCA that allows for the institution of a military alternative to the constitutional justice system for “any person” regardless of American citizenship. The MCA effectively does away with habeas corpus rights for “any person” arbitrarily deemed to be an “enemy of the state.” The judgment on who is deemed an “enemy combatant” is solely at the discretion of the President.
Be wary my friends. Be very very wary. Our freedoms are eroding as we sit here. Do not EVER think that the horrors that have happened in other countries in different times could never happen here because they most certainly can and will if we aren't vigilant in preserving our rights and privileges under our Constitution. We simply cannot and must not surf the web to see what some fluff actress wore to a party rather than go to our governments websites to see how our elected officials voted and research the laws being passed.
The men and women who died so we could have our Habeas Corpus died so we wouldn't have to. Don't let them have died in vain.
But that's just me.
Oh Yeah, HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!!! When we are all in wheelchairs parked in the sunroom of "the home" may 2009 be the year that we look back on and say "That was a really good year".
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