During the past year Wikileaks shocked the world by releasing secret U.S. government documents pertaining to the Iraqi and Afghan wars, and secret diplomatic cables which detailed the U.S.'s double dealing with many foreign governments.
But to follow the main outlines of the continuing collapse and demoralization of our yoostabee democratic republic, formerly founded on the rule of law, we don't need access to secrets. We can keep score with nothing more than any daily newspaper. During the last twelve months we have witnessed:
January -- Annals of corruption: The Supreme court ruled that corporations can contribute unlimited amounts of cash to political campaigns and issues. Welcome to the Corporate States of America.
February -- Department of "It's not illegal if the government does it:" Dick Cheney admitted publicly that he encouraged waterboarding. No criminal indictment or prosecution followed.
April -- Rewriting the Constitution: Obama authorized the plan to assassinate an American citizen living abroad who has been accused of terrorism.
April -- The secret agent from Kenya: The Arizona House of Reps passed a law requiring Obama to present his birth certificate before he can run for re-election in that state.
May -- Make sure you're oiled up before going out in the sun: Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour encouraged tourists to "Enjoy the beach" as tarballs and dead fish from the BP spill covered Gulf Coast shorelines.
June -- Commie plot dept: Congresswoman Michele Bachmann refused to fill out her family's census form.
July -- Has anybody looked under Maliki's mattress?: The Defense Department admitted it doesn't know where 96 percent of the money designated for reconstruction in Iraq has gone.
August -- "I have a nightmare:" Glenn Beck claimed that he is the modern-day Martin Luther King.
September -- The job isn't finished till the paperwork is done: A Florida bank foreclosed on the house of a man who didn't have a mortgage, having paid cash for the property.
November -- Dept. of fixing it when it ain't broke: Oklahoma voters approved a measure that would protect them from the imposition of Sharia law.
November -- "Yer damn right I did heh heh:" George W. Bush admitted authorizing waterboarding. No criminal indictment or prosecution followed.
December -- Dept. of Demolicans and Republicrats: Barack Obama approved an extension of the Bush tax giveaways for billionaires, as well as extending tax cuts for everybody else, thereby blowing another huge hole in the deficit. (But he promised to "fight really hard" to allow them to expire in two years.)
All this and much, much more at Tom Tomorrow's "The Year in Crazy."
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