Two thousand sixteen is going to be a monster year; I just know it. Presidential election, Summer Olympic Games, a chance to kick the teacher-haters out of the Arizona Legislature. Actually, 2015 hasn’t been so bad. The economy is booming, much to the chagrin of the Obama-haters. Gas prices are ridiculously low. And Arizona’s voters on both sides of the great divide have become aware of just how much damage has been done to the state’s schools in the name of crackpot ideology.
What follow is a list of some of my favorite things from the past year. As always, this is not a list of “greatest” things. It’s not my place to claim that something was the greatest. I just know what I like.
•Favorite Movie: I haven’t seen Star Wars, but I’m fairly certain it won’t be my favorite of the year. I’m definitely a Trekkie. The movie I enjoyed the most this year was the latest in the Mission Impossible series. It’s amazing how the movies in this series don’t fall off the Cliff of Disappointment into the Giant Pool of Sucko. As a matter of fact, the fourth installment, Ghost Protocol, and this year’s Rogue Nation are the best two in the entire series. The shot of Tom Cruise hanging off the side of that airplane as it took off was worth the price of admission all by itself.
•Favorite Book: I loved The Witches: Salem 1692 by Stacy Schiff. The very first line of the book reads, “In 1692 the Massachusetts Bay Colony executed fourteen women, five men, and two dogs for witchcraft.” How could you not want to read that book? I won’t tell you what the dogs did to get convicted of witchcraft, but I can say that it wasn’t for leaving a calling card on Cotton Mather’s front yard.
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•Favorite Book and Movie Combo: The Martian. (Pretentiousness Alert!) I almost never read fiction, but my computer-nerd son gave me The Martian to read a couple months before the movie came out. I couldn’t put it down; read it in one day. Then, even though I love Matt Damon and I like the work of Ridley Scott, I was terrified that there was no way that the movie could even come close to the book, but it did. It was exciting and moving, although I have no idea how the Golden Globes could nominate it for Best Comedy.
As for my favorite Martian, it’s probably the book (and not Ray Walston).
•Favorite Thing That Happened to the Republicans in 2015: Donald Trump. It’s never a good idea to be self-delusional. I remember back in the 1980s when the Republican Party tried to paint itself as the party of smart people, the party of big ideas. Of course, those big ideas were the same old crap about give rich people more money and maybe something good will happen to the rest of us. More recently, they tried to paint the people who voted for Barack Obama as “low information voters.”
Well, along comes Donald Trump, who holds a mirror up to the Republican Party and what appears in the glass ain’t so pretty. Apparently two out of every five Republican voters say that they identify with a clown who is racist, sexist, un-American in many, many ways, and (for the topper) someone who makes fun of handicapped people.
I’m sure that there are some good and decent folks in the Republican Party. They need to look at their potential standard bearer and realize that he is the product of the vitriol that has been spread by Fox News and right-wing talk radio and Tea Party politicians over the past few years. The message is clear: If you don’t look like us, you probably don’t belong here. It’s ugly and vulgar and, apparently, it’s here for the long run in the Republican Party.
•Favorite Thing That Happened to the Democrats in 2015: Donald Trump. Who else could make Hillary Clinton look reasonable by comparison? Bernie Sanders has certainly tried with his wacky grandpa routine. The phlegm-balls on the Benghazi Committee did their best to spruce up Hillary’s image. But nobody has helped out like Trump. Long may he lead the GOP polls.
•Favorite New TV Show: “Mr. Robot on USA.” It’s a really trippy series about a brilliant computer hacker who suffers from social anxiety disorder. (Don’t they all?) He joins forces with a weird anarchist who goes by the name Mr. Robot and they take on EvilCorp. It’s wonderfully dark.
I also liked the pilot episode of “The Man in the High Castle,” a sci-fi look by the late Philip K. Dick at what would have happened if the U.S. had lost World War II.
•Favorite Album: I absolutely adore Adele, but after the rage and fire of 21, her new album 25 seems almost sterile by comparison. I loved the retro-soul of Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats and the Leon Bridges album, Coming Home.
•Favorite Song: I’m blessed to have grown up with soul music. Could there possibly be a greater song (written or performed) than “My Girl”? Still, if I live another 50 years, there’s a good chance that “Uptown Funk” will be my favorite song of all time. It’s smoother than a fresh jar of Skippy.
This article appears in Dec 31, 2015 – Jan 6, 2016.
What you people don’t understand, and that’s OK, is that Trump is not a Republican. This RINO cuckservative party doesn’t want him either.
He is a Nationalist. He cannot be bought, he cannot be shamed, he cannot be stumped.
He is legitimately running for president because he cares for his children and grand children’s future.
He has been saying the SAME things and has always loved America.
I know it’s hard for you to understand patriotism, and to love America after all the programming of the past 30 years. Programming of white guilt, of American guilt, that we deserve to be treated poorly for past actions. But enough.
Do you want America to be great again? I do.
Trump 2016
“He is a Nationalist.” That’s correct, in a jingoistic, xenophobic way. There’s nothing patriotic about this man, and you’re right, he can’t be shamed because he has no shame. He has no shame and no sense of decency. Real patriots don’t support Trump; he represents the worst of America.
Counterpoint to “My Girl.” Does it beat “When a Man Loves a Woman,” or Sam Cooke singing “Bring It On Home To Me?”
What makes anyone think America is not still great? We still lead the world in science, still have the best universities and the best military. We are gradually coming around to gender equality, are working on minimizing racism, and are slowly making universal health care available to most. Those things we have not improved on, reasonable gun restrictions, improving K-12 education, taking better care of our vets, improving national infrastructure, and facilitating income equality, are all thanks to right wing Republicans and Tea Party “patriots”. There we look like idiots to other advance societies and Trump, Carson and Cruz epitomizes that.
” Fan of Danehy” My wife just had to call the paramedics.
Watch what you say about Carson. I said similar things about Obummer and that made a racist. Fan of Danehy! What a way to end the year.
Ok, it’s halftime between Alabama and Michigan St. and someone has to fact check this guy.
The economy is booming? You are sucking on Barry’s crack pipe again Tom. How about a few facts.
One and a half per cent growth. Ninety million people have left the labor force.
Hundreds of millions squandered on a stimulus package that was useless.
United Healthcare says adios to the Obama care scam.
You aren’t really gonna give B.O. credit for low gas prices are you? We had these prices ten years ago under W and I remember that he was accused of being in bed with big oil.
Should we talk about our terribly divided country and the worst race relations since 1968?
I thought your prez was going to bring us all together for a kumbaya moment. Terrorism is looking pretty bad considering that ISIS is just the Junior Varsity. Oh WTF, just blame everything on the “angry white guys”. You really have become a pathetic Dem Party hack.
MEOW. Vice. Is that like turley?
Nothing could make Hillary look reasonable more than an Orange jumpsuit. For 40 years.
Hey mouthy Tim,
You are not exactly mister positive calling one person a racist and suggesting that I “off myself”
I notice you never have a coherent counter-argument, you just keep up the name calling.
Why don’t you climb back in your litter box and work on your spelling and typing skills. Have a wonderful 2016.
I was going to say pretty much the same thing this morning, but I’ve been over dosing on the Twilight Zone marathon. I finally took a break and you wrote almost to the word what I was going to say. Catwoman is a high ranking member of Tommy’s L.L.L. And this is the best he could do to counter all the great points you made. Ol” Timmy makes a better case for the right than you and I combined.
Have a great New Year Vince, and don’t be such a stranger
Disgusting and extremely lame! Tom Danehy’s ‘ageist’ comment about Bernie Sanders –“wacky grandpa routine”. Let’s see who the wacky one is here: Sanders is the only one in Congress to publicly challenge Alan Greenspan’s sham economic views before the 2008 economic crash. Bernie voted against the Iraq war and yet compassionately championed more funding for veterans who were in that war. Voted against arming Syrian rebels. Bernie sets all time records–More than 2.5 million contributions are powering his campaign. That’s what a grassroots movement looks like.
✅$73 million since April 30
✅2,513,665 contributions
✅More than 1 million donors
✅Average contribution <$30 Perhaps danehy should do some self-examination about his own ‘wackiness’ with his siding with media elites who either ignore or denigrate the the only sane candidate running for president. danehy does not deserve to even shine the shoes of the courageous Sen. Sanders.
Tom, are you really so naive you don’t know who elected Obama? You and I both know it was primarily welfare recipients, undeserving SSI disability recipients, Fed. workers, unions, and others who feel they can bleed the taxpayers easier when Democrats are in control. Others I won’t list.
Are you so naive you don’t know why our country “is doing so well now”? You and I both know it’s because the present admin. has had the money printing machines running 24/7 printing money to give to those groups I list above, so they can spend it and make the economy look better.
Why do you constantly give credit to a party that has and continues at break-neck speed to push our country over the financial cliff?
Yes, The politics will be changed by the AZ Republicans, they are kicking Sen. John McCain in the ASS, booting him out of office they are saying. He done too much for the state, help the people too much. That not the NEW Republican way, it about doing nothing. Getting elected to office, collect a salary and benefits and retire with a big pension having done nothing. This is the NEW GOP way.
The AZ Republicans have selected a radical female Dr. Ward to replace him. Saying the taxpayers salary is better then what she can make and also retire on a good monthly salary, thanks to the tax payers. So doing nothing is the new agenda of the GOP, get elected, hey, you don’t even have to show up for work. Your pay is mailed to you, ask Rubio.
Voters if you want a working senate and congress, give the whole GOP party a kick in the ass and throw them out.