2013 Draws To A Close

Once again, we have come to the last day of a year.  Like any year, this one has had its share of significant events.  Islamic terrorists attacked the Boston Marathon with bombs made from pressure cookers, and attacked a railroad station and a bus in Volgograd, Russia with suicide bombs.  The United States military pulled out of Iraq, leaving behind a country still under attack from terrorists, but continues its presence in Afghanistan.  The rollout of Obamacare included numerous technical difficulties with its website and numerous cancellations of existing health insurance policies, making the president's promise "If you like the policy you have now, you can keep it" look like a lie, or at best a farce.  The Catholic Church got a new pope, not because the old one died, but because he resigned.  The British royal family got a new heir to the throne when Princess Kate gave birth to Prince George.

During 2013, two new words entered the popular vocabulary.  First, it was "twerk", the result of Miley Cyrus's performance at the Video Music Awards.  Later, it was "selfie", which is short for "self portrait", resulting from the proliferation such pictures on online social media.  One episode of selfie-taking occurred at the funeral of former South African President Nelson Mandela, with President Obama being aided and abetted by Prime Ministers Helle Thorning-Schmidt of Denmark and David Cameron of Great Britain, and then being made to switch seats with (and by) the First Lady.  I must admit, I never thought I'd find myself agreeing with Michele Obama, but in this case, she was right to restrain her husband's behavior.

Unlike 2012, 2013 didn't bring any memorable end-of-the-world predictions, but one member of our solar system did indeed come to an end.  Comet Ison, predicted to possibly become a spectacular sight during the past month, did not survive its encounter with the sun, leaving behind only a cloud of dust.  Meanwhile back on earth, a group of scientists on their way to Antarctica to study the alleged loss of ice around that continent got stuck in the evidence to the contrary.

The last few months of 2013 brought some sadness as my father and three of my friends passed away.  One friend was a man with whom I worked.  Another I had played with in a band back during the 1980's.  The most recent was Internet radio host and Constitutional scholar Tim Kerlin, known as "Loki".

In a few hours, 2014 will be upon us.  With the midterm elections coming up in November and fallout still coming from Obamacare, to name two examples, there will plenty of things for us in the vast rightwing conspiracy to deal with.  Happy New Year, everyone.