Molly Ivins: 2004 - How 'bout a do-over?

[Dudley_DUright]

Oh 2004, 2004, bird thou never wert. Was it really that horrible a year, or does it only seem that way?

Abu Ghraib, the endless trials of Kobe Bryant and Scott Peterson, war in Iraq looking worse every day, Howard Dean eliminated over a whoop and a presidential race so devoid of joy that the high point was when the president claimed God speaks through him -- leaving us to contemplate the news that God doesn't know how to pronounce nuclear and has yet to master subject-verb agreement. "Performance enhancing drugs" in baseball. Ray Charles died. Karl Rove is Man of the Year. We're all overweight. Swift Boat Liars win the presidential race for Bush. Then just to round things off nicely, a terrible natural disaster. What a bummer.

But, look at it this way... the Boston Red Sox won the championship. Eliot Spitzer is scaring the spit out of the insurance industry (check out those year-end bonuses on Wall Street, El). The Greek Olympics went well. Maybe we could end the payola by just having them in Greece every time. Lance Armstrong won a record sixth Tour de France, a symbolic victory for cancer patients everywhere.

Jon Stewart survived a storm of approval and came out just as sardonic as ever. Richard Clarke showed us all that public servant, class act and bureaucrat can be the same thing.

more...

http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=18307

[Skittles]

1. it truly was a very, very horrible years

both personally and for America and the world, there's not much to cheer about for 2004. I'm very glad it is over. Not that things change overnight but symbolically there is something about a new year.

[non sociopath skin]

2. However, Molly Ivins. Al Franken, Mike Moore, Randi Rhodes &c ..

... are still alive and kicking. And one day your great country will awaken from its nightmare. They always do, you know ...

Happy New Year.

The Skin

[tibbir]

3. This was one of my worst years yet

for both personal and universal reasons. Besides everything that's happening in the US and the world, my ex-husband, who was one of my very best friends and the father of my son, died unexpectedly 2 weeks ago at the age of 54.

The new year has just got to pick up.

[bunkerbuster1]

4. Sorry for your loss. 2005 will be better

if enough of us think globally and act locally (and perhaps ask themselves WWJD.)

I tend to think of the US as being 48% full, not 51% empty.