Doomsy's Do-Gooders And Dregs (2011 - Pt. 12)

(I know it's hard to believe, but since all good things must come to an end...Part One is here, Part Two is here, Part Three is here, Part Four is here, Part Five is here, Part Six is here, Part Seven is here, Part Eight is here, Part Nine is here, Part Ten is here, and Part Eleven is here.)

RIP

Pete Postlethwaite, Anne Francis, Gerry Rafferty, Matthew Crozier, Federal Judge John Roll, Christina-Taylor Green, Dave Nelson, Susannah York, Josephine Harris, Sargent Shriver, Don Kirshner, Jack LaLanne, David Kato, John Barry, Ernest McCulloch, Brian Rust, Maria Schneider, Ahmad Mohamed Mahmoud, Gary Moore, Rashawn Anderson, Chuck Tanner, George Shearing, Kenneth Mars, Frank Buckles, Jane Russell, Shabhaz Bhatti, David Broder, Rick Martin, Warren Christopher, Bill Winslade, Elizabeth Taylor, Joseph William “Pinetop” Perkins, Geraldine Ferraro, Richard Leacock, Joe Bageant, Sabah al-Bazi, Farley Granger, John Adler, Baruch Blumberg, E.J. McGuire, John Sullivan, Sidney Lumet, William Donald Schaefer, Tim Hetherington, Anton Hammerl, Chris Hondros, Madelyn Pugh Davis. Michael Sarrazin, Phoebe Snow, Don Clark, Marian Mercer, Jackie Cooper, William Campbell, Cornell Dupree, Odell Brown, Jr., Harmon Killebrew, Jeff Conaway, Gil Scott-Heron, James Arness, Andrew Gold, David Mason (trumpet player on “Penny Lane”), Carl Gardner (lead singer of The Coasters), Wild Man Fischer, Clarence Clemons, Yelena Bonner, Peter Falk, Gil Spencer, Margaret Tyzack, Fred Steiner (composer of this theme, among others), Anna Massey, Cy Twombly, Armen Gilliam, Betty Ford, Shannon Stone, Facundo Cabral, Sherwood Schwartz, Sam Denoff, Jerry Ragovoy, Ketzel (meow), Amy Winehouse, G.D. Spradlin, Dan Peek, Bubba Smith, Hugh Carey, Bernadine Healy, Nancy Wake, Jared Hagemann, Albert Brown, Christina Santiago, Ruth Brinker, Nick Ashford, Jerry Leiber, Brad McCrimmon, Pavol Demitra, Mike Flanagan, Casey Ribicoff, David “Honeyboy” Edwards, Kyle Willis, Charles S. Dubin, Cliff Robertson, Charles Percy, Burhanuddin Rabbani, Troy Davis, Wangari Maathai, Ralph Steinman, Steve Jobs, Fred L. Shuttlesworth, Derrick Bell, Bert Jansch, Roger Williams, Dan Wheldon, Paul Leka, Virginia Knauer, Robert Pierpoint, Andy Rooney, Joe Frazier, Bil Keane, Tom Wicker, Harry Morgan, Dobie Gray, Oscar Griffin, Jr., Desmond Ryan, Cesaria Evora, Vaclav Havel, Dan Frazer, Michele O’Callaghan, Jacob Goldman, Kim Geun-tae, Simms Taback, Nicol Williamson

Dregs of the Year

After reviewing all of the evidence, I don’t know how it could be anyone else but this guy, Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News International.

This tells us about the phone hacking scandal that broke open over the summer after the British newspaper The Guardian reported on Milly Dowler, 13, who disappeared on a walk home in a London suburb in 2002. Days later, private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, working for News of the World, allegedly started intercepting Dowler's cellphone voicemail messages, and erasing them to make room for more. The deletion of messages gave Dowler's family and the police false hope that Dowler was alive, until her remains were found in September of that year.

Oh, but News Corp conducted an “investigation” in August that did little more than further cover up phone hacking allegations on both sides of the Atlantic, as Eric Boehlert of Media Matters noted here.

Also, this UK Guardian article tells us, among other things, that 803 phone hacking victims were identified by police, including Sara Payne, whose daughter Sarah was abducted and murdered in July 2000 (Keith Olbermann provides more information here in an interview with British journalist Robert Moore).



So what do Rupert The Pirate and company have to say in response? This tells us about the various denials by News Corp employees that turned out to be thoroughly disproven, and this tells us about the ongoing investigation by the Justice Department (with United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, recusing himself from the office's ongoing investigation into News Corp. because of a longstanding friendship with Viet Dinh, a News Corp. board member). In addition, this tells of the typical Murdoch hubris on display as the investigation unfolded.

For these reasons (particularly the hacking of Milly Dowler, Sarah Payne, and the Iraq and Afghanistan military personnel, all of which took place and more with his approval as far as I’m concerned), Rupert Murdoch is Dregs of the Year (at least).

Do Gooders Of The Year

Time Magazine recently named “the protestor” as its Person of the Year, as noted here; I’m not so sure I would go that far because I still have a “wait and see” attitude towards Egypt and Libya (though I think the movements to depose Mubarak and Quaddafi were basically good developments). However, I definitely would name the “Occupy” movement as Do Gooders of the Year.

It most definitely is a positive development that the “Occupy” movement has brought the issue of class inequality front and center in this country, doing so by making great sacrifices and with a bit of flair at the same time, concocting stunts such as this “human red carpet” at a Chamber of Commerce soiree in Washington, D.C. (for which the “Occupy” forces have earned the wrath of the “pay no price, bear no burden” bunch, as noted here, which the group should wear as a badge of honor, particularly Iraq war vet Scott Olsen, as noted here).

I think an example of the group’s dedication to change on behalf of the “99 percent” is noted here in K.O.’s interview with Dorli Rainey, the 84-year-old Seattle “Occupy” member who was pepper sprayed by that city’s police force (Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn later apologized – more about the group can be accessed from here and here)…



For all of these reasons and many more, the “Occupy” forces are, collectively, the Do Gooders of the Year (and here is a song for the occasion).



Update: And in the spirit of the season, I give you the following (here)...



Also, in keeping with my annual custom, I want to thank everyone who has taken any time whatsoever over the prior year to visit this site and read and/or comment on what I have to say (particularly my “followers”; I’ll try my best in the New Year to return the favor). There’s more competing with my posting time than ever before, which has definitely cut down on my output (including the congressional vote write-ups – not sure what I can do about that at the moment). I’ll keep you all informed as best as I can on any future developments as they occur.

I hope you all have a great 2012 – in the coming year, let’s keep doing what we can as our means allows to put our country back on track.