2009: The Things I Want to Forget -- Part Two
For some, the end of the year is a time to think back on all the memorable moments from the previous 12 months. I prefer to continue my contrarian tradition of performing a mental cleanse, removing from my internal hard drive all the things that should no longer be cluttering my mind.
Here then is a list of the things I'd like to forget, circa 2009:
Glenn Beck's tears. Glenn Beck's whiteboard. Glenn Beck's attacks on Van Jones. Glenn Beck calling Obama "a racist." Glenn Beck.
That Lloyd Blankfein told the Times of London that Goldman Sachs was "doing God's work."
The $38 billion tax break the IRS just handed Citibank.
That the nation's four biggest banks, all of which took taxpayer money, cut lending by $100 billion over the last six months.
That we know as much as we do about David Letterman's sex life.
That we know as much as we do about Tiger Woods' sex life.
That we know as much as we do about Sen. John Ensign's sex life.
That we know as much as we do about Gov. Mark Sanford's sex life.
That we know as much as we do about Nadya Suleman's uterus.
That Sen. Chuck Grassley joined in the "death panel" nonsense, saying voters had every right to be worried that the government would "pull the plug on grandma."
That Rep. Joe Wilson raised millions for his re-election after yelling "You lie!" at the president.
Bristol Palin, abstinence ambassador.
That Sean Hannity refused to follow through on his offer to be waterboarded for charity, even after Keith Olbermann said he'd donate $1,000 for every second Hannity endured.
That Alberto Gonzales, who approved torture, politicized the Department of Justice, and lied to Congress about warrantless wiretapping and pre-war intelligence had the nerve to claim: "I consider myself a casualty, one of the many casualties of the war on terror."
The endless hours of precious media air time given over to the Balloon Boy hoax.
Balloon Boy vomiting on national television. Twice.
The number of warning signs exhibited by Maj. Nidal Hasan that were overlooked.
That even after credit card reform legislation passed, credit card companies can charge 30 percent interest rates.
The toothless stress tests the Obama administration applied to the banks.
That Sen. Jeff Sessions argued for keeping Guantanamo open by pointing to the "tropical breezes blowing through" the prison.
That Kim Hendren, a Republican Senate candidate from Arkansas, referred to Chuck Schumer at a campaign event as "that Jew."
That waterboarding had been used in an attempt to extract backup for Dick Cheney's fantasy of an Iraq/al Qaeda connection.
The way conservatives played the race card in attacking the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor.
Bernie Madoff's mistress' revelation that he "had a very small penis. Not only was it on the short side, it was small in circumference."
That the toughest interview of the year was done by a comedian (Jon Stewart's masterful evisceration of Jim Cramer).
French President Jacques Chirac's revelation that George Bush told him in 2003 that he wanted to invade Iraq to thwart Gog and Magog, the Bible's satanic agents of the Apocalypse.
The revelation that John Edwards had promised Rielle Hunter a post-Elizabeth rooftop wedding featuring the Dave Matthews Band.
That conservatives couldn't contain their glee when Chicago lost out in the battle for the 2016 Olympics despite the combined star power of Oprah and the Obamas.
That Nancy Pelosi, who had promised to "drain the swamp" and create "the most honest, most open, and most ethical Congress in history," instead resisted calls to remove scandal-plagued Ways and Means Committee chairman Charlie Rangel from his post.
That we are spending $30 billion a year to take on the 100 al-Qaeda members still in Afghanistan -- that's 1,000 U.S. soldiers and $300 million for every one al-Qaeda fighter -- in an unnecessary war of choice.
The beer summit.
Ryan O'Neal's admission that he hit on his daughter, Tatum, at ex-wife Farrah Fawcett's funeral.
That after an inspiring presidential campaign that promised to take on the special interests, special interest lobbyists flexed their muscles (and their wallets) and showed who really runs the show in DC.
Miley Cyrus, pole dancer.
The Movie Multiplex from Hell: Bride Wars, The Box, The Ugly Truth, All About Steve, Old Dogs, Land of the Lost.
Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew.
Sarah Palin's resignation speech. Sarah Palin's feud with David Letterman. Sarah Palin's book tour. Sarah Palin.
The look in Neda Agha-Soltan's eyes just before she died, gun downed on the streets of Tehran. At the same time I never want to forget it.
2009: The Things I Want to Forget -- Part Two
Follow Arianna Huffington on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ariannahuff
At any rate you seem like a good Republican. I will accept responsibility for the incompetent things Democrats do. I still think the Democrats are fiscally more responsible and honest. Witness how the previous administration kept the war off the books.
righties have all lefties on their worst of. lefties have all righties on their worst of. its really pathetic to how blind people can be to the weakness shown on "their team."
i would add to my list: playing the race card. "racist" was one of the most-used words this year in american politics. either used to describe obama, sotomayor, or their critics. the number of reporting i heard calling obama critics as racists really perplexed me. its really juvenile to see adult resort to namecalling in place of debate on policy and political opinion.
the copenhagen fiasco would also make my list.
good to also see the "adulterers" make your list, woods, sanford and edwards, among others. tiger not so much, mainly to these politicians that on our dime pretend to be these champions of right. their hypocrisy is what really bugs me, as their private life is their business. but they pose in their tie and perfect hair, smiling with a bible in one hand and the constitution in the other. *throws a tomato at them*
enjoyed parts 1 & 2.
And the fact that the president I worked so hard to elect is not the person I thought he was.
I wish I could forget all these things but I cannot.
This was my favorite column of Arianna's from the past year.
Is your list any longer or more meaningful than it was in 2008, or 2007, or 2006, or...? Mine is not. Although Democrats won back the Congress in November 2006, my 2007 list did not look good. And the Democrats also won the White House in 2008, but my 2009 list looks, once again, dismal.
I honestly cannot remember the last time that there was much political news for Americans to celebrate. Once in a blue moon, some subtle, progressive tinkering at the margins takes place. Otherwise: it's all corporate, all nationalist, all the time.
When the Republicans were in power they just bullied their way and pushed through whatever legislation they thought they needed. Democrats refuse to do that and it has to stop.
I want an end to the bipartisan attempts. Republicans are just faking it anyway. They have no intention of voting for any of the legislation. It only weakens the bills when Democrats try to work with Republicans. Then the Republicans vote against the bill anyway.
Democrats have a mandate to enact the legislation that represents the campaign promises they ran on.
But perhaps the most idiotic thing coming from the liberal warriors of gender equality, the Free to Be You & Me crowd, is the complaining about Glenn Beck's tears.
Men don't cry, huh?
Republicans are only attempting to "appear" to be reducing spending because it plays well to the public - please don't forget it was six years of Republican congress that got rid of "pay as you go" rules, ran up the deficit in the first place and it was Democrats that put "pay as you go" back into place again when they regained control. Sen. Hatch himself said "it was general practice not to pay for things..." when explaining why it was okay during their reign in Congress to just tack the costs of their initiatives onto the deficit. Abolishing pay as you go combined with deep tax cuts (mostly for the super wealthy) equals fiscal stupidity, not fiscal responsibility. Let's return to those days in a time of financial crisis!
And I haven't heard anyone compare Obama to Palin - seriously.
President Obama should hire you as a valued consultant who will advise based on what you believe rather than what the polls are saying.
Unfortunately, Obama has been caught in the weather vane of public opinion, rather than political conviction.
Looking forward to your insight in 2010. Aloha!
Obama's weekness.
How Copenhagen 15 failed.
How the whole decade failed in those last days.
Yet there are many good things that happened outside the U.S.:
The Lisbon treaty has been passed (a more democratic EU).
Technology revolution.
After this decade it can only get better.
I found Huffington Post which made me realize that I'm not the only liberal in the U.S.
I will always admire Bill Clinton for surviving his fall from grace and continuing to serve humanity despite his imperfections. And I'll always admire Hillary for handling the matter with such grace and dignity. David Letterman has always tried to keep himself off the pedestal, so his fall wasn't so devastating. I hope Tiger Woods and his wife survive the ordeal and that he learns the danger of the pedestal. And I hope Mark Sanford finds a place in which to make a positive contribution to society rather than just clamoring to regain political power.
- Notion
- Family Values
- Faith based anything!
-WAR
- Bailouts
- Health Care Debate - there should be NO DEBATE, EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE IT!!!
EVERYONE should have this???
And you forgot those who can't get insurance because of pre-existing conditions, or such high premiums and deductibles that it is impossible to afford on the declining middle class pay scale.
And you forget those who lose their health care when they get sick and are dropped by their insurance carriers.
And you forget those who lose their work-based health care because they can't afford the COBRA payments, of because their new minimum-wage job doesn't provide health care, and those COBRA payments have run out.
I'm all for spending cuts, but I want to see them on defense spending instead of on domestic programs like education, social security, health care, and sustainable jobs creation programs and better regulation of food safety. Generally things that benefit actual human beings, rather than the military-industrial complex and corporate expansion into every aspect of our lives.