UPDATED: The Big Story of 2005
I just finished writing this week’s Creators Syndicate column and I’ve emailed it to my editor. The subject is “the year’s big story” — but it’s a knuckling curve, so I won’t give the title away.
That noted, what ARE the big stories of 2005? I use the present tense because genuinely “big stories” don’t cram into the frame of a single year.
Call this an anecdotal poll — leave your suggestion as a comment. Remember, thanks to the moderation routine, comments usually take anywhere from two to four hours to appear.
UPDATE: Excellent comments. I’ll link to my column first thing Wednesday morning, either via strategypage or realclearpolitics. Again, the moderation routine (which includes a software program that automatically eliminates most obscenities and common spam words) means it often takes two to four hours for a comment to post. Blame the fellow who committed identity theft in the comments sections earlier this year.
UPDATE 2: Hugh Hewitt emails his big story: ” My nomination: The leaving, and arriving, of a great Pope. HH”
UPDATE 3: We will be doing some work on the site in the next week. If someone feels moved to hit the tip jar, now’s the time to do it. I still owe a couple of “thank you” emails to contributors.
UPDATE 4: See my comments on what I think is the most important story or read it at realclearpolitics.
UPDATE 5: I’ll be off-line 48 hours. Comments may not appear for up to 24 hours.
The big story in my 2005 is Katrina. However, disasters come and go. The coming of age of the blog is probably a lot bigger story, though it’s hard to pin into one year.
Comment by dloye swift — 12/27/2005 @ 11:32 am
The Iraqi elections. We have won — and the media didn’t notice.
Comment by Cato — 12/27/2005 @ 11:53 am
1) The rampage of democracy in the Middle East. 2) Hurricanes.
Comment by Bruce Giese — 12/27/2005 @ 11:53 am
I’d say the undeclared war on President Bush being conducted by elements in the CIA, the MSM, the Democrats, and the Washington establishment is the big story of 2005.
Comment by pat — 12/27/2005 @ 11:56 am
Big Story #1: “The Middle East Starts to Change”. Withdrawal from Gaza, Syria leaves Lebanon, Iraq becomes fully democratic, Jordan turns against the terrorists.
Comment by Solomon2 — 12/27/2005 @ 11:58 am
I think the biggest story of the year is the exposure of Left-wing media bias. They exposed themselves in their coverage of OTHER big stories of the year.
Comment by Joyce Romano — 12/27/2005 @ 12:01 pm
New Orleans being destroyed is probably the most important American story. Changing of the Pope probably the big story for the world.
Comment by Moonbat_One — 12/27/2005 @ 12:01 pm
The continued investigation into Able Danger and intel failures leading up to 9/11. The continued hurricane recovery along the Gulf Coast. Intelligence leaks, media complicity, and the pushback. Democracy rising - Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, et al.
Comment by lawhawk — 12/27/2005 @ 12:08 pm
The sucessful elections in Iraq; raised purple fingers, the peace/victory sign of the decade.
Comment by Daniel Corvino — 12/27/2005 @ 12:09 pm
“Karl Marx Completes Takeover of Democrat Party!” or “Point of no return assures World’s end: Global Warming on a meltdown curve.” Oh well……..
Comment by Joe Peden — 12/27/2005 @ 12:15 pm
I’m not sure exactly which story it is, but in the long-run, it has to be related to the continued break down of old media. 50 years from now, that is what will matter.
Comment by MPH — 12/27/2005 @ 12:15 pm
1) Clearly the ongoing campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. 2) Multiple elections in Iraq - and the MSM’s astounding ability to downplay them. 3) The MSM’s, especially the NYT’s, willingness to compromise national security to feed their collective hatred of the Bush administration. Oh, for the days when they only whored for circulation numbers…
Comment by Mark H. — 12/27/2005 @ 12:26 pm
One of many big stories would be the UN corruption. They Oil for Food money plus Koffi’s son being involved. and no big papers are truly pursuing it.
Comment by Shane Hanson — 12/27/2005 @ 12:48 pm
The UN oil for food scandal plus Koffi’s son being involved.
Comment by Shane Hanson — 12/27/2005 @ 12:49 pm
I’d say that the biggest story of this year is the stand-up of the Iraqi government.
Comment by rabidfox — 12/27/2005 @ 12:50 pm
Iraq.
Comment by M4-10 — 12/27/2005 @ 12:51 pm
Iran is the biggest story. A genocidal regime has run down the clock, a huge war is about to break out and the world doesn’t even seem to know or care. They should
Comment by Ayatollah Ghilmeini — 12/27/2005 @ 12:59 pm
Three free elections in Iraq, the first in the history of the Middle East. This provides a large dose of pesticide for Muslim Terrorists. All thanks to George Bush.
Comment by Todd Roth — 12/27/2005 @ 1:02 pm
Illegal Spying on Americans
Comment by Elizabeth Steadman — 12/27/2005 @ 1:06 pm
The assault from everyone on the Left of our President, George W. Bush and everything he is accomplishing and has tried to accomplish: GWOT, judges, tax cuts, etc.
Comment by Rich — 12/27/2005 @ 1:13 pm
The transition of Newspapers to Toilet Papers.
Comment by Daniel Wall — 12/27/2005 @ 1:40 pm
What a year! A tsunami at one end, a new Pope, Mother Earth again in Pakistan and her eathquake, two and a half hurricanes in the Gulf Coast, bombings in London, Jordan, Sharm el-Sheik and of course, always in Baghdad and yet the march of Democracy throughout the Middle East continues and the always with us, low-level media war telling us not to look behind the curtain. It’s a tough call. There was Terry Schiavo’s three week starvation by the government and multiple murders of children. There were the beheadings of schoolgirls in Sulawesi and killings of Christians in Indonesia. The superstupendous, the unthinkable, has become commonplace this past year. Charles and Camilla got married. Did anybody care? I’m afraid to turn on the tv anymore for fear of seeing some new unthinkable assault by mother nature on the planet or by Islamists upon the rest of us. When we get serious about dealing with these young, educated, spoiled brats who become fanatics for something to do, that’ll not only be news it’ll be THE STORY OF THE YEAR….MAYBE THE CENTURY!
Comment by foreign devil — 12/27/2005 @ 1:41 pm
The biggest big story of 2005 — the uber-alles, the metastory — is the emergence of feedback as a useful tool. Timely feedback is the unexpected gift of the internet generation. Before feedback, the habit of the secretary general of the United Nations would have been to create an inadequate investigative commission to bury a scandal. Before feedback, the New York-Washington-Los Angeles mainstream media axis, would present opinion as news and move on with but a self-selected letter or two mentioned in rebuttal. Before feedback, the habit amongst the Sunday morning talking heads would have been to skate by on unsubstantiated innuendo. Before feedback, the habit amongst the Senator Phogbounds would have been to never be held accountable for what was said before. Feedback is like a skittish thoroughbred or a double-edged sword. With it, a microphone can just as easily squeal destructively as amplify a voice. With it, the stimulus-response-relaxation cycle can overrun itself with signal. So next year, the biggest story will finally be recognition that effective education means learning to think about thinking – which is feedback and recursion, tied into one. It will mean reconstructing school curricula to rediscover the value of grammar, logic, and rhetoric as the tools to use to improve our mental map of reality, to discover better ways to do things, and to plan our very best future. In the end, the biggest story made blogs possible.
Comment by sbw — 12/27/2005 @ 1:43 pm
What’s the big story of 2005? Austin Bay wonders what the big story of 2005 is.
Trackback by sbw — 12/27/2005 @ 1:49 pm
The absolute “head in the sand” approach of the world to Ahmadinejad’s comment saying Israel should be “wiped off the map”. If that is not a declaration of war I don’t know what is. Mike G.
Comment by Mike G. — 12/27/2005 @ 1:57 pm
The unrelenting campaign by the MSM and the leadership of the Democratic Party to bring down President Bush without regard to how it helps our enemies or hampers the war against Islamo-Fascism
Comment by Ted — 12/27/2005 @ 2:17 pm
Big stories: The return of the Iraqi state Stormontgate: the secret story of Britain in Northern Ireland The rise of the new media China vs Japan: the Cold War in Asia Latin America turns Left. Chavez, Morales and more The Oil for Food Scandal The advent of Iranian nuclear weaponry
Comment by wretchard — 12/27/2005 @ 2:23 pm
The complete breakdown / fecklessness, pick one, of the intel agencies in the US. The CIA’s only use seems to be to leak intel programs to the NYT or WaPo. NSA likely leaks as well. And then there is “Congressional Oversight”, an oxymoron if one EVER existed. If I were a terrorist, I would be encouraged that I could likely do about anything I wanted without being noticed. The #2 story would be the lack of security on our borders.
Comment by Becker — 12/27/2005 @ 2:27 pm
The most important stories are: 1. The progress of democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan 2. Able Danger 3. The willingness of the New York Times (and many others in the media) to jeopardize national security in an effort to embarrass President Bush. I don’t think even the Copperhead newspapers during the Civil War went as far as the Times has gone.
Comment by jack kelly — 12/27/2005 @ 2:29 pm
the slow, slippery slide to irrelevance by the legacy media…slip, sliding awaaay. Aided and abetted, of course, by their own mendacity.
Comment by dymphna — 12/27/2005 @ 2:48 pm
Democracy on a roll in the middle east, new Pope, natural disasters…no particular order. Whether or not history credits or blames W for two of the three occurances largley depends on the emergence and continued success of the new media, namely, you blogger guys.
Comment by Mike Villierme — 12/27/2005 @ 2:59 pm
Attack on the Presidency. The election was contested (Ohio), the inaugural was criticized and the assault has been non-stop. Its Party before Country.
Comment by noel — 12/27/2005 @ 3:07 pm
I have to say that the CIA’s war against Bush is big. Leaking military secretes during a time of war is one story the MSM refuses to write about. Leaking Valerie Plume’s name is so minuscule compared to surveillance of persons tied to our enemy. MSM and our liberal politicians should be screaming for full investigations and prosecution of anyone found to be leaking state secretes.
Comment by JAT0 — 12/27/2005 @ 3:13 pm
Gotta be Oil For Food and the total ethical collapse (or at least the public unveiling of it) of the United Nations. It is no longer possible for them to say with a straight face that they are trying to do what’s best for all nations and that we should trust them to be in charge of business between nations. Let ALONE a military with any real efficaciousness. Between official self-enrichment and arranging for underage sex slaves from local populations, the U.N. is well into the disgusting zone, and I’m sure there’s lots more in there that we just don’t know about yet.
Comment by Dave — 12/27/2005 @ 3:23 pm
Having sustained a fatal wound beneath its flack jacket, the MSM still doesn’t know Snowden’s secret.
Comment by Sissy Willis — 12/27/2005 @ 3:25 pm
I don’t see any message here about monitoring comments . . . This is my third or fourth try. Sigh. :{
Comment by Sissy Willis — 12/27/2005 @ 3:26 pm
The unabating attack against our President by the left wing media. I have never seen such raw and in-your-face prejudice in my life.
Comment by Renee — 12/27/2005 @ 3:30 pm
1. The Return of the Strong U.S. Presidency 2. Iraq Proves Itself Worthy 3. U.S. Senate Claims Status As New House Of Lords 4. Fourth Wave Enters Second Generation In Military, Business, Education
Comment by DJ Drummond — 12/27/2005 @ 3:40 pm
Why, the exposure of the great Jeff Gannon / Jeff Guckert conspiracy to deprive our great nation of, er, … what was that whole thing about again? But it was as big as RatherGate, right? I think there was something about that. Seemed important at the time, really, really important. Ummmm…..huh.
Comment by arminius — 12/27/2005 @ 3:48 pm
Teams that didn’t win the World Series in over 80 years going back to back in 2004 and 2005 (the Red Sox and the White Sox).
Comment by David Pinto — 12/27/2005 @ 3:53 pm
1. Iraq transitions to constitutional government. 2. The death of John Paul II and the election of Benedict XVI. 3. Hurricane Katrina. 4. French riots–the first skirmish in the European civil war between secularists and Muslim immigrants? 5. Collapse of the mainstream media. 6. Increase in the use of the Internet for commerce and communication–one of those big changes that occurs so incrementally that it never makes the headlines.
Comment by Mike — 12/27/2005 @ 3:54 pm
While we are preoccupied with politics and the bursts of current actions in government, et al, there are much-larger life-impacting events taking place. Most of these concern our health/life/expectancy, etc. January 1st, our hospital begins implanting a “permanent” artificial heart. The hearts will go to many who will never need a transplant. Donors not needed! The current life of the 1st version will be 5-10 years….Contained in the body; battery recharged through the skin. The 2nd version is already being developed and may be longer-lived. This impacts humanity, and soon may be quite affordable…..no life-sustaining drugs, no constant worry of rejection. Think about it! Duke of DeLand
Comment by Duke of DeLand — 12/27/2005 @ 3:54 pm
Advances in nanotechnology.
Comment by PacRim Jim — 12/27/2005 @ 3:57 pm
Everyone has mentioned the obvious big stories as well as some lesser stories that are quite noteworthy. However, the Kelo case will probably be the biggest story that will miss all the “important story” lists.
Comment by Ron Wallert — 12/27/2005 @ 3:58 pm
So many top stories that it is hard to choose. Short term: Katrina Medium term: Decline of MSM Willingness of the Left to do things to jeopardize American success Slow but steady changes in the judiciary of the US Exposure of the UN as worthless and even dangerous Long Term: Iraq emerges as a potentially democratic state. Iran very close to nuclear weapons and the world sits still. Emergence of Eurabia. Rise of blogging and the decentralization of information.
Comment by Stephen — 12/27/2005 @ 4:00 pm
Success in Iraq — and the media didn’t notice, also, rampant national security leaks and the media taking part in it.
Comment by Jim C — 12/27/2005 @ 4:00 pm
The unrelenting attack on our sitting President, not only by the leftist media but also by former Democrat Presidents Carter and Clinton. They will stop at nothing to win back the seats they have lost. It is the Democrat party first, country second with them.
Comment by Renee — 12/27/2005 @ 4:01 pm
1) Democracy in the Middle East 2) Natural Disasters 3) The White Sox win the World Series 4) The end of the main stream media
Comment by John — 12/27/2005 @ 4:14 pm
Don’t forget the riots in France. Clearly one of the top stories of the year.
Comment by Dave Schuler — 12/27/2005 @ 4:21 pm
The braying pack of anti-American Americans. Lincoln,FDR, HST,JFK & Ronaldus Magnus were ALL shocked at the behavior of the Left and Beltway Democrats, in general. And they smiled as President Bush pursevered.
Comment by Mike Stevens — 12/27/2005 @ 4:21 pm
The credibility meltdown of the Bush administration.
Comment by Neal — 12/27/2005 @ 4:22 pm
The big story is the rise of democracy in the Middle East. The tangential arcs are the ironic switch of the U.S. political parties in the face of this change. Typically, the liberals, at least in the classical sense, stood for societal change based upon the pursuit of liberty and following popular will through the election process. Conversely, the traditional definition of conservativism is for maintenance of the status quo unless there is a principled reason to change, and then such change should be incremental at best. Flash forward to 2005, the GOP dons the hat of liberalism in its efforts to ensure democratic change in Iraq and the Democratic Party dons the hat of conservatism in a thinly veiled attempt to prevent that a democratic Iraq from happening all with the full support of the Mainstream Media. The underlying theme is that whatever party can support the spread of democracy and freedom worldwide, generally enjoys electoral success in U.S. politics. It is amazing that one party gets it, and the other does not.
Comment by Denman — 12/27/2005 @ 4:25 pm
[…] respect to John Gibson, there’s someone else borrowing the phrase. Austin Bay is reporting on the Big Stories of 2005. Michelle Malkin has some suggestions. Posted @ 2:32 pm | […]
Pingback by California Conservative » The Big Story of 2005 — 12/27/2005 @ 4:32 pm
a) The Jihadist losing the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people and the greater muslim world when they stopped attacking US military and started attacking arab civilians. b) The incompetence of the Bush Administration as exposed in everything from Katrina to bad social security plan to being unable as head of the party to control pork barrel spending or rampant corruption. It is the end of the Regan Revolution. c) The slow, unsteady, but remarkable and inspiring growth of democracy in Iraq. d) The American people rejecting torture as an acceptable instrument in the war on terror despite the strong support for torture from a feckless president and his lapdogs.
Comment by Watch Tower — 12/27/2005 @ 4:47 pm
Bush’s FAILURE to slice Social Security up into pieces for his Wall Street backers. It was the first of many FAILURES to be discovered by the SCLM in 2005. BTW, if the NSA is reading this, I think Bushie is doing a heckuva job!
Comment by Ev — 12/27/2005 @ 5:00 pm
Have I only seen ONE mention of the death of Pope John Paul II?? That, to me, is certainly the biggest story of the year. It’s not everyday a future Saint died. Even at that, it isn’t everyday that a regular old Pope dies. And JPII was everything but a regular old Pope… Then, of course, theres the re-election of the new Pope, but the death of the old seems more significant.
Comment by Kevin W. — 12/27/2005 @ 5:00 pm
The Big Story of 2005… Austin Bay is asking, “what are the big stories of 2005?” A good question. I think what is going on in Iraq is amazing. What do you think?
Trackback by Speed of Thought... — 12/27/2005 @ 5:10 pm
The big story of ‘05 would have to be our continual successes in Iraq despite the barrage of attacks and misinformation by the MSM here in the US. The highlight and pinnacle of this would have to be the Iraqi elections and the way that Iraq is beginning to influence the middle east.
Comment by Phil — 12/27/2005 @ 5:29 pm
The Democratic party and their new philosophy of victory at any cost, including national security.
Comment by Eric — 12/27/2005 @ 5:36 pm
Due to a short attention span, the biggest story to me is the deliberate violation of the law by the New York Times in a fit of pique that the President has used his presidential powers to wiretap Al Qaeda correspondents in this country, without getting the permission of the press. The press is having flashbacks to Watergate, because it no longer considers 9/11/2001 relevant. The other big story is the descent into dementia by a major political party, with the encouragement of the MSM. Katrina and Rita are significant only because they demonstrate once again the folly of expecting Democrat officials to do their jobs. It is also the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Joseph Smith, Jr., the prophet.
Comment by AST — 12/27/2005 @ 5:37 pm
Obviously the biggest story has been the complete coverup of those toilets capable of sucking down Korans! It’s right up there with the oil companies keeping the gasoline made from water a secret. (Oh yeah, and the coming torrent of Iran.)
Comment by Kerry — 12/27/2005 @ 5:40 pm
A thousand years from now, the only story that will be rememered is that St. John Paul the Great died…there will be tales told of his singlemindedly staring down the Communists just like we remember the Pope staring down Attila… Unless, of course, we all get “nuked” in a holy war, then we will tell tales of the Chamberlains who refused to recognize danger, …Question: Will Bush be remembered as Charles Martel or as Roland?
Comment by boinkie — 12/27/2005 @ 5:40 pm
I would have to say that the largest story of the year has been the Iraqi elections and the successes of these elections without so much as a whimper from the MSM.
Comment by Angry American — 12/27/2005 @ 5:50 pm
Terri Schiavo’s as human sacrifice on the altar of judicial arrogance.
Comment by Samuel Capsouto — 12/27/2005 @ 5:52 pm
I have to agree with #57 - the big story has been the elections in Iraq and the failure of the MSM to cover it.
Comment by Angry American — 12/27/2005 @ 5:53 pm
- The new dynamics of the Middle East (democracy on the march) - Iranian nuclear program ramps up - The degredation and decline of the western mainstream media - The rise of new media
Comment by Robin Goodfellow — 12/27/2005 @ 6:05 pm
Iraq!
Comment by AngryAmerican — 12/27/2005 @ 6:12 pm
Of historical consequence- International: Failure to prevent Iran from acquiring The Bomb. National: Treason (aka “patriotism”) becoming an accepted political tactic.
Comment by Craig — 12/27/2005 @ 6:15 pm
The big story in 2005? I think there are 3, aside from the usual natural disasters. 1. Kelo v. New London. It’s the final nail in the coffin of property rights. 2. More people now trust the president than trust the press. Unthinkable 25 years ago. 3. Changes in major political parties: self-marginalization of the Democratic party and the rise of the non-religious right, demanding fiscal sanity and deep-sixing the Miers nomination.
Comment by ubu roi — 12/27/2005 @ 6:28 pm
In the long term, I think the history books will focus on the emergence of democracy in the Middle East, made possible by the actions of President George W. Bush. I think history will look at President Bush and this period in much the same way that it now views President Ronald Reagan’s role in ending the Cold War and freeing Eastern Europe from domination by the Soviet Union.
Comment by DRJ — 12/27/2005 @ 6:30 pm
Trackback didn’t work . . . Here’s what I blogged about it all: “Their guts are spilling out in back“
Comment by Sissy Willis — 12/27/2005 @ 6:34 pm
I just wanted to join in the fun.
Comment by Sissy Willis — 12/27/2005 @ 6:35 pm
The public murder of Terry Schindler should be the top story of 2005.
Comment by tm'ss — 12/27/2005 @ 6:47 pm
The biggest story of 2005 may not be truly known until 2006, or possibly 2007. And that story may very well be that the free nations of the world stood idly by, and did nothing, while Iran developed and then used a nuclear weapon to murder millions of innocent people.
Comment by Robert Koslover — 12/27/2005 @ 6:52 pm
Iraq elections and Katrina are of course big stories. But so is Latin America’s turning towards communism.
Comment by Frank — 12/27/2005 @ 7:12 pm
The biggest story, that was never written to my knowledge is the waste of money spent on decorating the White House for Christmas. Trees in every room, some with real flowers as decorations which have to be replaced every two days, real wreaths on every window - when the poor people down south don’t even have a house to put a tree in. I see no justification for such splendor when so many are living in squalor.
Comment by Maryann Giles — 12/27/2005 @ 7:41 pm
The deterioration of our legal system as evidenced by the conviction of Scott Peterson without answers to why, when, where, or how; the exoneration of Michael Jackson due to incompetent prosecution; the office of the President used to allow the starvation of Terry Shiave and Corey Maye, a poor black nobody, who sits on Death Row in Mississippi, in actual innocence.
Comment by First Objectivist — 12/27/2005 @ 7:47 pm
The biggest story is from Afghanistan where there was no big story from Afghanistan. No quagmire, no brutal winter, no executions in the soccer stadium, no nothing. The smallest story is the meltdown of the moonbat left. No one cares about their narcissism except them.
Comment by Mark — 12/27/2005 @ 8:01 pm
The biggest story of 2005 wasn’t–but it will be in 2006 or 07 or 08: Iran developing nuclear bombs. Stay tuned.
Comment by Steven — 12/27/2005 @ 8:13 pm
The biggest story of 2005: the continuing decline of the American mainstream media from the forefront of our information sources, thanks to the continuing growth of the blogosphere. Yay!
Comment by -Ed. — 12/27/2005 @ 8:16 pm
“The biggest story of 2005 may not be truly known until 2006, or possibly 2007. And that story may very well be that the free nations of the world stood idly by, and did nothing, while Iran developed and then used a nuclear weapon to murder millions of innocent people.” Bingo, with a small correction: …that America, the freest, most powerful nation on Earth, in the name of altruism–to *avoid* being seen as selfish–stood idly by…
Comment by Steven — 12/27/2005 @ 8:17 pm
The original question, “What ARE the Big stories of 2005?” Has become, “What will be the big stories of 2005?” The historical perspective used by most contributors shows their intelligence. Remember that a good story has God, Royalty, money, Sex, and mystery as its elements. What have we got to work with? Nuthin with all of those things working. Lots of stuff happening, but no big long term story that I see right now. Having said that, I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist and I dislike giving the Bush haters credit for organization, but I believe that there is a hidden story concerning the coordinated attack on the President. But, I don’t know what it is. The anti-Bush spin is a constant buzz. Greater and much more sophisticated and coordinated than even Lincoln faced. The surface evidence of the underlying story is everywhere. But, what is under the surface? Bush isn’t running again and neither is Rummy, of Cheney, or even Jeb. WHY are “they” always on the attack? There must be more to it than just keeping the liberals sitting in the bleachers “in the game.” There is a story here that I can not yet see. When it comes out, if it has a little anti-God, a little strange sex, and some American Royalty involved, it will be THE big story.
Comment by Frank Derfler — 12/27/2005 @ 8:23 pm
“…that story may very well be that the free nations of the world stood idly by, and did nothing, while Iran developed and then used a nuclear weapon … ” Bingo, with this alteration: “…that America, the freest, most powerful nation on Earth, disarmed by the 2,000 yr. morality of altruism, eschewed a self-interested foreign policy and stood idly by…”
Comment by Steven — 12/27/2005 @ 8:24 pm
Sound Off OK readers! If Austin Bay can ask, so can I: What do YOU think was the biggest story (or stories) of 2005?
Trackback by Macker's World — 12/27/2005 @ 8:26 pm
It’s got to be Kanye West and the Smurf genocide.
Comment by Shallow — 12/27/2005 @ 8:40 pm
The biggest story would be the continually unveiling spectacle of the end of liberalism, the exposure of its complete failure and the propaganda techniques used by the MSM and the bankrupt thinking of its’ leaders. It’s very much like the fall of Communism in the late 80s. All the chickens are coming home to roost, and the end of the 60s may finally have come.
Comment by Matt — 12/27/2005 @ 8:43 pm
Tookie! They killed sweet, innocent Tookie! Whose only crime was writing children’s stories and keeping at-risk youngsters out of gangs (oh, and yeah, he blasted a 7-Eleven clerk point-blank with a sawed-off shotgun in a $120 robbery, and offed a couple of elderly women and their children for $100. Th’ brotha’ just needed th’ money, hear what I’m sayin’?) Rage! Rage! Even the people of Austria rage over the injustice done to this innocent Nobel Peace Prize nominee. How can his painfully slow murder by the Governor of Collyfornia not be the news story of the year?
Comment by Crusty — 12/27/2005 @ 9:10 pm
[…] ry? Filed under: Bush Good, The Fourth Estate, Catholicism Austin Bay is asking what were the big stories of ‘05? I agree with Hugh Hewitt that the passing of John Paul II and the elect […]
Pingback by The Anchoress » So, what’s the big story? — 12/27/2005 @ 9:34 pm
I think one of the smaller bigger stories of the year was the “taking back of Christmas”. That’s a battle won. The liberals may have already had their high-water culture war moment.
Comment by Michael — 12/27/2005 @ 9:51 pm
The big story of the year is:’That which was ‘hidden’ shall be shouted from the rooftops!’ Ask yourself, where are the Sattellite dishes, internet WiFi’s and Cell phone towers (”rooftops”) and what INFORMATION would the “contollers” love to HIDE, but, “That which was hidden is shouted from the rooftops…” And thank you, yes…all the king’s horses and all the king’s men…couldn’t put Humpty back together again. But ENGINEERS and SCIENTISTS can. (The rest of you lawyers, CPA’s, MBA’s, CEO’s, MANAGEMENT, Politicians, and other ner-do wells, can go to HELL..you are snail snot in the stream of progress.)
Comment by Dr. Joseph Papp — 12/27/2005 @ 10:16 pm
From #78 - “The smallest story is the meltdown of the moonbat left. No one cares about their narcissism except them.” I tend to disagree. Many comments have mentioned the bias of the mainstream media, and the Democrats embrace of anything that is anti-Republican; these types of observations have come in various degrees, or from slightly differing perspectives. But through it all is the sad fact that the political divide grows wider, not lesser. This kind of self-inflicted wound makes for a troubled future, for sure. Those who spout such tripe as “The most patriotic thing I can do is to disagree with everything good” will never understand the damage they do, but it can’t be trivialized. The Great Divide is the story of the year from where I sit.
Comment by rastajenk — 12/27/2005 @ 11:43 pm
Oddly, a lot of comments talk about the Conspiracy Against The President, using the same language in at least two cases… One of the biggest stories is that opposition to illegal immigration is finally getting some traction.
Comment by TLB — 12/27/2005 @ 11:58 pm
I say the cBS TANG memo fakes. Dan Rather’s “retirement.”
Comment by Ledger Man — 12/28/2005 @ 12:57 am
The spread of free-thought by the http://WWW. Critical mass has been achieved and there’s no stopping it now. [In sympathy with #23] But there’s still time for the surprise, “MSM recants, apologizes - vows celibacy, poverty, focus exclusively on how many angels fit on pin-heads.”
Comment by Joe Peden — 12/28/2005 @ 1:27 am
Yes yes, with all the middle east business, and the pope passing along, and the hurricanes and whatnot, you aah, umm… You may have missed that McDonalds started taking credit cards, like almost everywhere rather then in just a few select stores. k tx.
Comment by Peter — 12/28/2005 @ 2:12 am
I am going to second or third the suggestion that the biggest story of 2005 was the anti-American insurgency fought by large swathes of the MSM, many NGO’s, much of the leftist intelligentsia, the new left in Latin America , the Old Guard in Europe, and Jihadi Terrorists and Pan Arabists in the middle east. It is scarcely an entirely new story, but what makes 2005 special is that Anti Americanism has rarely been as virulent and as deranged as over the past year, from the lunacy of comparing the Gulag to Gitmo, to the craziness of placing ones faith in Chavez, to the swiftness with which excersises in comforting spin such as dismissing concerns about Iran’s new president as American scaremongering have unraveled , from the aftermath of memo gate and the appalling job done by the MSM on Katrina coverage, the almost immediate implosion of the Anti-american spin about Tsunami aid, the remarkable consitency with which media, NGO’s and the comentariat manage to get it wrong about Afghanistan and Iraq - the common thread running through all these stories is the central story of the early part of the Millenium - Anti-americanism has become the only reall alternative ideology of our times, and in 2005 the depths of it’s derangement became that much ore apparent.
Comment by Johan Wehtje — 12/28/2005 @ 2:27 am
PARTISANSHIP. Liberals place party over national security. The media and its Bush-bashing cohorts motivated by political gain, increased the risk facing our troops by their foolishness.
Comment by Lores Rizkalla — 12/28/2005 @ 2:49 am
On second thoughts, the #1 Big Story is the destruction of New Orleans.
Comment by Solomon2 — 12/28/2005 @ 5:05 am
Top Story? Easy: W Brings About Democracy in the Middle East! IMHO, all the other stories are dwarfed in comparison, and in importance.
Comment by Fish-Man — 12/28/2005 @ 6:33 am
Rove operative Cindy sheehan destroys the Democratic party.
Comment by IcallMasICM — 12/28/2005 @ 6:49 am
The best story is the relentless failure of MSM to continue to dominate how we learn our news. Lies, and convuluted “facts” are being exposed.It is no longer true that the NYT, etc. can simply make anything true by just saying it. The death of newspapers and TV news is no longer a rumor. They are the walking dead.
Comment by Dan frazier — 12/28/2005 @ 7:14 am
There are many big stories this year - Iraq, Iran, New Orleans, the death of John Paul II. But one that I have not yet seen mentioned is the defeat of the Harriet Meyers nomination by an blog-led rebellion among the president’s own supporters. The blogs did what the newspapers and networks could not: defeat a weak nominee and bring about her replacement by one much stronger. If anyone doubts the power of the blogs, well, let them doubt no longer.
Comment by Brown Line — 12/28/2005 @ 7:25 am
Kelo vs. New London, The loss of Property rights.
Comment by Bill — 12/28/2005 @ 8:05 am
Biggest stories: 1. The elections in Iraq and Afghanistan - democracy taking hold in countries that once sponsored terrorism. 2. The mainstream media crackup - it is to the point where now they are blowing vital intelligence programs just to get the Bush Administration. 3. The rise of the blogs - from Rathergate to Eason Jordan to the Miers nomination, the blogs have become a decisive factor in political debates.
Comment by HaroldHutchison — 12/28/2005 @ 10:04 am
The war on Christmas was undoubtedly the biggest story of 2005 with the state-sanctioned murder of Terri Schiavo second.
Comment by DougJ — 12/28/2005 @ 12:28 pm
Biggest Story: The march of Freedom in Iraq. Iraqi’s voting in spite of the danger to their own lives. Honorable Mentions: The turning of Jordanians against al Zarqawi after the hotel bombings in Jordan. The meltdown of the printed media in America and the rise of power of the ‘Blogosphere’. The Minutemen: Their influence on the debate of illegal immigration in America.
Comment by SAnaya — 12/28/2005 @ 3:13 pm
I think history will reveal that the big story of this year will be the animus of those with Bush Derangement Syndrome. I think the reason it will be memorable is that the preponderance of their allegations were simply without merit.
Comment by Fred Banta — 12/28/2005 @ 5:00 pm
End-of-the-Year Festivities Late December is when bullet points come out to play. National Review has posted its contributors’ predictions for 2006, Professor Bainbridge has the top wines of 2005 (something in which the whole Dartblog readership will be far more interested than…
Trackback by Joe's Dartblog — 12/29/2005 @ 9:17 am
My nomination is quite clearly spelled out on my page where I show, day by day, disaster by disaster how George W. Bush is behind all the evil of this year. How the mainstream press can continue to ignøre this is beyond me.
Comment by Vanderleun — 12/29/2005 @ 3:18 pm
Bush rope-a-dopes MSM and left wing democratic haymakers. They threw everything they had at him and he is still chugging along like the energizer bunny. It is wonderful to behold. Poor dears must be very frustrated. Blogs and alternative media prime suspects in devising rope-a-dope strategy/execution. Blogs modestly disclaim any part - say democratic party and is simply exercising its right to die under a living will written by the New York Times..
Comment by rich — 12/29/2005 @ 6:27 pm
Why has nobody suggested the John Kerry Inaugural? It was such a huge affair! Hillary, sitting purse-lipped in the audience, figuring it’ll be another 8 years till she’s back in the White House, even though she and her husband did their best to sabotage Kerry’s campaign. And all the dignitaries! Half of the French government, seated in the front row, next to their brothers, the Germans. Streisand singing at the ball. Ruth Bader-Ginsburg giving the oath (the honor was given to her due to Rehnquist’s illness). Michael Moore doing color commentary from a sumptuously catered press box! Kerry announcing an immediate pullout from Iraq as part of his Inaugural speech. All this, forgotten already?!? I guess that’s because though it was foretold, fantasized about, and all but certain to happen, none of it actually happened! So we can all look back, be thankful for this, among our many blessings, and get our Republican Congress to start acting like none of it actually happened!
Comment by Marty — 12/30/2005 @ 9:31 am
No, no - it has to be Cindy Sheehan! She made such a difference in turning around that war-mongering Mr. Bush! At least that’s what my LLL New York mother-in-law told me so it must be true.
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Comment by kayemilano — 6/3/2010 @ 6:40 am