In a few hours, the year 2021 will be over with and 2022 will start. Of course, in most time zones east of my own (EST) and west of the International Date Line, 2022 is already here. How shall I generally describe 2021? Lets just say that after all the interesting times of 2020, 2021 came along and said "hold my beer".
The interesting times got started on January 6th, when a bunch of Trump supporters, possibly along with some people pretending to be Trump supporters, invaded the Capitol building as Congress was getting ready to certify the 2020 presidential election, won (at least officially) by former Vice President Joe Biden. One of the most noted invaders was an activist known as the "QAnon Shaman", who got 41 months in prison for his role, although I'm still amazed that he was never charged with any dress code violations.
Because of a speech he gave on that day, then-President Trump was impeached for the second time, allegedly for inciting the Capitol Riot, and again was acquitted. On Inauguration Day, fences were put up around the Capitol, to protect President Biden's inauguration from possible violence, which never came.
Once in office, President Biden quickly set about signing executive orders, including the cancellation of the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline expansion. This and other actions have caused gasoline prices to rise during 2021. Inflation also increased to its highest level since 1982. Biden also discontinued Trump's wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, which resulted in greatly increased illegal immigration.
On the foreign side, the U.S. suffered a major defeat when the Afghan government collapsed and the Taliban retook Afghanistan. We still don't know how many Americans and Afghans who tried to help our forces, such as interpreters, are still in Afghanistan.
Some of our younger people vented their (and our) frustrations by chanting "[bleep] Joe Biden" at college football games. (My own alma matter is not innocent in this matter, I'm sorry to say.) The chant also appeared at Nascar races, including one that was won by a driver named Brandon Brown. As he was being interviewed afterwards by NBC sports reporter Kelli Stavast, the anti-Biden chant broke out, which she either mistook for "Let's go, Brandon", or perhaps knowing what the chant was, decided to euphemize it to "Let's go, Brandon", referring to the driver. As a result, "Let's go, Brandon" has become a way to say "[bleep] Joe Biden" without literally saying "[bleep] Joe Biden".
Although coronavirus vaccines have become widespread, the disease has continued to be rampant in many parts of the world. As the virus has mutated, variants of the disease such as the delta (thought to have arisen in India) and more recently the omicron (from southern Africa) have appeared. The disease continues to exhibit breakthrough infections, including among people who are fully vaccinated and boosted, such as Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ).
Perhaps the most notable judicial event of 2021 was the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse, charged with murder after shooting three people, killing two of them, in a riot in Kenosha, Wisconsin in 2020. He was just 17 at the time. If you ask me, the best thing about the verdict is that the right of self-defense still exists in the U.S. Meanwhile in Georgia, three white men were convicted of murder in the death of a black man named Ahmaud Arbery, which happened when they pursued him through the neighborhood, thinking that he had been burglarizing a house that was under construction.
As with any year, 2021 saw a number of deaths among famous people. Just today, actress Betty White passed away. Other celebrities who left us this year include actors such as Jackie Mason, Tanya Roberts, Clarence Williams III, Gavin MacLeod, Charles Grodin, Olympia Dukakis, Christopher Plummer and Cicely Tyson; musicians such as Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, singer B.J. Thomas, singer Lloyd Price, songwriter Jim Steinman, composer Stephen Sondheim and Bay City Rollers singer Les McKeown; right-wing commentator Rush Limbaugh; broadcaster Larry King; retired General Colin Powell; sports figures such as baseball player Hank Aaron and football coach John Madden; former Senators Bob Dole (R-KS) and Harry Reid (D-NV); and royal consort Prince Philip of the U.K. Of course, no list I could possibly make would be complete.
My own experience of this year included some renewed traveling, including trips to Virginia, Ohio and Missouri. During the Missouri trip, I was able to go as far as Commerce, Oklahoma and see the boyhood home of my first sports hero, baseball player Mickey Mantle.
Naturally, I hope that 2022 will be less interesting that 2021 or 2020. But that way things have gone, I must ask myself "who am I trying to kid?" So may everyone who reads this blog have a happy New Year, and hopefully things will calm down a bit. Just don't hold your breath.
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