The good news of 2009!
Just so nobody thinks I'm whining, I had a great year. No complaints. But what a tough year for our communities and our nation.
I'm convinced that one of the most important hurdles faced by President Barack Obama is a kind of backlash: voters expected him to just make it all go away.
But as we learned through 2009, this is going to be a slog, not a sprint. Yes, the economy is showing feeble signs of life, but sheesh. Can we get some unambiguously good news, please?
Actually, yes. Here's my top-10 list of cool news from the last twelve months, in no particular order:
10. America -- including much of the North Country -- elected an African American president. A huge step, and more than symbolic. A black man is the most powerful man on earth. Wow.
9. Trudeau Institute expansion. This one's closer to home, and it's big. Saranac Lake has needed an economic shot in the arm for a while now, and this is the kind of high-end, high-tech work most rural towns only dream of.
8. Big Tupper reopening. This one snuck in just under the wire, with heaps of volunteer effort, some generosity on the part of the owners of the mountain, and a little help from the weather gods. Congratulations to Tupper Lake.
7. The Democratic Party's North Country resurgence. We need a 2-party system. It was no good when Republicans ruled unquestioned. Now we have competitive elections. Huzzah for democracy. Now if the GOP can just stage the same kind of revival statewide...
6. The Adirondack-North Country region prepped at least nine athletes for the Vancouver Olympics. The Games don't start for a few weeks yet, but the work, training and community support of the last year (and years) laid the foundation. This is something to be proud of.
5. Congressman John McHugh was named Secretary of the Army. A distinguished North Country public servant is chosen to help lead our military at a time of desperate need. It's an honor for him and the Fort Drum-North Country region.
4. The North Country gets wired. Innovative public and private ventures around the region have hastened the expansion of broadband and cell phone service. This is the basic equipment of a modern economy. More and more North Country residents have full access to the brave new world that is on-line.
3. The dredging of the Upper Hudson begins. This may seem distant to a lot of North Country residents, but the renewal of this iconic river, which begins in our High Peaks, is a huge environmental step.
2. No St. Lawrence Seaway expansion. It appears that a consensus has been reached that expanding the St. Lawrence Seaway is off the table. This is good news for the environment and for communities along that crucial industrial waterway.
1. Burn barrels were banned. I know, flame on. We all hate intrusive government, etc. But the science of burn barrels is, well, toxic. It's time to let this North Country tradition go.
So there's my list. What do you think? What are the best good news stories of 2009?
posted by Brian Mann @ 12/31/2009 07:01:00 AM
17 Comments
17 Comments:
#10- We got a giant sized case of White Guilt and voted in an unqualified half white black man? That's a good thing? Why? Maybe next time "JJ" or "Steve Urkel" can run and then we can get a 100% black man.
Whatever happened to the "content of his character"?
Great list Brian. Let the new year remember while sparce the good news of 2009.
To Anonymous @ 9:37:
And John McCain, who was willing to put the far more unqualified Sarah Palin next in line to the Presidency, is qualified? If McCain ever had any values, integrity, qualifications for leadership, he completely betrayed them when he put her on the ticket. I voted for Obama the way I always do: he was less scary than the other guy. White guilt had nothing to do with it. Don't assume you know the motives of people who disagree with you.
I may add:
Our Senator, Hillary Clinton, was chosen by our wise and well qualified President, to be Secretary of State;
NASA discoverd water on the surface of the moon;
Hubble Space Telescope was repaired and updated to give us even greater discoveries;
and let us not forget, that as Bush/Cheney left Washington, DC by helicopter on Jan. 20, 2009, the immense inauguration crowd below sang - "na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye!"
Oh, and anon at 9:37am, you're acting like a putz.
'Putz' is described in the slang dictionary as yidish for a stupid or obnoxious male; a stupid person. (Usually objectionable.)
Well, now I really am suffering from a giant sized case of White Guilt. I didn't consider that you may be a "100% black man" criticizing half & half Obama!
My white guilt apologies to you if you are black. Just tell me when you plan to run for mayor so that I may rid myself of guilt by voting for you.
What a putz!
Congratulations on a well formed list.
Regardless of politics, I agree that the election of Obama was historic.
Regardless of politics, I agree that the Democratic win in NY23 was notable.
Regardless of politics, I agree that John McHugh's appointment is honorable.
Well done, and well said, Brian.
@ Gromit,
Can you show me any executive leadership positions that Obama or Biden have had in elected office?
The media had a grand time pointing out the mistakes of Palin while she was on the road, yet Biden was given a free pass for the shoe leather sandwich he had in his mouth whenever he spoke.
It's the putz again. Anytime anyone mentions Obamas skin color as a reason to vote for or celebrate his election I call it white guilt or racialy motivated voting. Anyone who voted for him because he appears black is just as much of a loser as the people who wouldn't vote for him for the same reason. It's racially motivated voting. Explain to me why that's right or a good thing.
Palin is at least as qualified as Obama and there's no doubt about her associates, her birth place or her agenda. As soon as you can show me where she has murders and commies advising her I'll shut up.
1. Regardless of your views of Mr. Obama's politics, for America to elect an African American reflects well on us as a people. It's not white guilt. It's a recognition that race shouldn no longer be be a disqualifier. For more than 200 years, it was. It's cool that we got past that.
2. Regarding the President's qualifications. The man is clearly an interesting, complex, rounded man. A scholar, a teacher, a father, a community organizer, a legislator, a writer, a traveler. It's true that he lacked executive experience, and never served in the military. Those are fair reasons to vote against him. But a lot of voters saw in him other qualities.
It remains to be seen whether those qualities will serve him well in the White House, but so far I'd say his behavior is reassuring.
Again, I'm setting aside politics for the moment, specific policies, and all the left-right stuff.
He's been tested pretty hard this year.
And one of the biggest complaints about his executive demeanor seems to be that he's too cool, too deliberative, too measured.
Not bad for a guy who's never held the reins before.
--Brian, NCPR
Thank you for the essay and expressly for this most recent comment, Brian. Well put.
Chelle Lindahl
(I choose to express myself
while not actually being anonymous)
Brian, I agree with Chelle.
You manage to sum up in a few concise paragraphs, the thoughts of many of us out here in Blogoland.
That is why you are where you are.
Good work and a fine example to follow.
Mr Mann.
Excellent work. Well done. I would add that the biggest story of the year was Bernanke's actions to save the Federal Reserve and thus the United States and World Economy.
Time Magazine named him man of the Year for a reason. If people would put their politics aside and think without rancor, they would realize how close we were to imploding on a level unimaginable.
I credit President Obama for following his lead. A wise move, that history will someday credit him for-if not his political adversaries.
I offer the following link for those who are open to learning more, before they make up their mind.
You cannot begin to save Main Street until first you have save Wall Street. It turns out they did not receive a stimulus package, but a short term loan which they paid back. A very good investment for everybody who has a pension, now or hopefully in the future, or a 401K. We were looking at 25% or more unemployment if he had failed.
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1946375_1947251,00.html
Except one point...the bailout of wall street was done by Bush, Not Obama.
"Except one point...the bailout of wall street was done by Bush, Not Obama."
January 1, 2010 10:45 AM
Lets be factually correct. A President does not have the power to conduct such business.
It was the Democratic controlled Congress that worked WITH ( imagine that as we now have a Congress with every Republicans only interest blocking every thing as they posture for elections ) the President to come up with a sweeping rescue plan for banks and other financial institutions.
The first vote on it was defeated when two thirds of the Republicans in Congress vote NO.
Republicans were fighting mad at Pelosi because when asking for a yes vote on the Bill, she spoke the truth. Here is what she said.
""When was the last time someone asked you for $700 billion?" Pelosi asked in a floor speech shortly before the vote. "It is a number that is staggering, but tells us only the costs of the Bush administration's failed economic policies — policies built on budgetary recklessness, on an anything goes mentality, with no regulation, no supervision and no discipline in the system."
She was right. The Democrats were able to twist enough arms and get it passed. And the collapse was avoided.
Anon:
""Except one point...the bailout of wall street was done by Bush, Not Obama."
January 1, 2010 10:45 AM
The plan was devised by Bernanke and modeled after measures F.D.R. instituted in the thirties.
Fortunately, we had enough Statesmen then to put their Country first. Just enough. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. Like Rush said, he wants to see Obama fail. He has many supporters in Congress and the Senate it appears, and in the general population. How sad is that? You cannot parse the two: To wish for Obama to fail is to wish for America to fail. There is no way around that conundrum.
11:23, I'm no fan of Rush but when he said "I hope he fails" I believe Rush meant Obama's policies would be bad for America and he hoped they wouldn't be enacted.
It is a matter of debate if cap and trade, health care reform, and regulation of Wall Street are good for America (I happen to think they are though I disagree with Obama on some of the details).
11:08 "And the collapse was avoided". Forcing more people to pay for things in cash and not borrow would be good for the economy. Excessive credit and debt helped get us in this mess and Bernanke was an enabler of it with his low interest rate policies.
A fair response on the economic situation. I do not think for one second though that people like Rush want things to get better. That would be bad for the business he is in. Obama might receive some of the credit, which would be bad for opposing Parties. The primary goal of a political party is not to govern well, but to be elected.
That goes for all Parties. The only difference now is that we can only move forward with progressive, yes liberal policies, to work through this mess. When the person chosen by the Republican Party says " the engine of the economy is fine," well, there really is no place to go from there.
Obama is God, all hail the Beloved Leader.
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