2011 Year in Review: January and Everything After

The Year that the Populace revolted. Egypt, Middle East, Occupy Wall Street. It was a year of major and minor uprising that showed the voice of the people still mattered. The Middle East and Africa saw their people overthrow their governments and it was a powerful reminder that people still have power. Occupy Wall St. may have had mixed results but their voice was a vital reminder of enough being enough.

That’s probably what led to the rise of Wikileaks, Julian Assange’s crusade to reveal the hidden truth. I don’t know if he’s doing this to speak truth or if he’s saying too much for no point except to be a TMZ-like figure, but he had a dramatic impact this year with his documents.

Blackberry’s Death. The king of smart phones has become a pauper because Research in Motion failed to innovate and be forward thinking like Apple. Despite their full keypad, their quality lagged behind iPhone and Android and folks began abandoning ship. It didn’t help that a 4-day power outage, poor apps, not making sure all phones had the capacity to upgrade and delaying their new phones til late 2012 were all bad signs.

The Death of Osama Bin Laden, Kim Jong Il, Qaddafi – a year of uprising saw three of the most famous villains meet their end. Kim Jong Il was the last but perhaps the most significant considering nobody knows what direction N. Korea will take. Bin Laden was a key victory for US foreign policy, but not the end of terrorism or Al Qaeda. And you know who’s still around? Castro.

Consider this: Fidel Castro has been in charge of Cuba for 50 years. He’s been in charge longer than Obama’s been alive and has long outlived the fall of communism in Russia. You thought Koreans were bugged about Kim Jong Il dying? When Castro finally passes, it’s going to be a crazy domino effect.

For President Obama, 2011 had some successes. The war in Iraq has ended. Bin Laden was killed on his watch. The recession is slowing. The GOP candidates are a weak bunch that wouldn’t beat Hillary Clinton. Yet somehow someway, he has to deal with a Congress that refuses to work with him. 2012 is shaping up to be a crazy end game for his first term but I still think much must be done 

2011 also brought us Good Ole Herman Cain. Let Herm Cook was one of the popular sayings on Twitter as Cain got popular with his catchy sayings, plainspeak and frankly being a comfortable Black Republican. Unfortunately, he proved to be all hype with no backbone and no clear plan and when he proved to be unready for Prime Time, his unraveling was great. Even Sarah Palin thinks he needed to shut up and get smart.

Sports

Penn State. The fall of a legend for the sins of another. As I stated here earlier this year, Joe Paterno committed no moral crime. He is perhaps the 4th worst offender in all this. But no man is bulletproof. He was aware of what happened to those boys and it's sad that a legend has to leave like this but it's sadder that Jerry Sandusky abused his privileges. He took advantage of two organizations for his disgusting behavior.

The coverup of Penn State (combined with the scandals at Ohio State, Miami and the Fiesta Bowl fiasco) showed me that college football's facade is slowly being revealed. It's the last place where loyal fandom elevates individuals to god-like status (that doesn't happen in the pros anymore) and we are seeing the dangerous results of that.

Taylor Branch said it best in one of the year's finest stories, college football is a cartel where players are product and institutions make millions off them. If I may add, fans are customers and it's about time we see not just what we're given but the bigger picture.

1. The Packers win the SB and then go 15-1 as a followup.

2. The NBA in transition to a new era from my youth to the LeBron/Durant/Rose era (kinda how old heads must have felt in 1998/99 when Shaq, Duncan, Kobe, KG and Jason Kidd took over)

3.  Game 162 of the baseball season (Magical), Game 6 of the World Series (Un-BELIEVABLE, Pujols coming to the Angels*

4. Realizing that my Lakers are headed for one last run.

5. NFL/NBA lockouts, David Stern’s killing the CP3 trade – I was glad to see fans support the players and realize that the owners care mainly about making money instead of their satisfaction.

6. Cam Newton’s great year/Tim Tebow’s hype

7. The return of USC/the fall of UCLA to new lows

8. The Dallas Mavericks winning the NBA Title/The Heat's collapse

9. A weak college basketball year gave us two mid majors in the Final Four but also Kemba Walker being the definition of a leader in leading UConn to the title. 

I watched more soccer this year than I did in a non-World Cup year. The good news was appreciating the genius that is Lionel Messi and learning to understand the beauty of great soccer teams. Messi is without question a joy to watch but also discovering the future genius of Mexican wunderkund Chicarito will make me more intrigued to grow into a game I dismissed for so long. 

USC is poised to have make 2012 just like 2004 when they won the title. They are going to be loaded while UCLA welcomes a new coach, a shaky offense and not much to look forward to.

Everyone talked about the Heat, few people made a lot of sense when discussing them. They weren't built to win the title in Year One. Meanwhile Dallas didn't tell us that Dirk Nowitzki was poised to play possessed in one of the best postseasons I've seen in giving the Mavs - a longtime joke of my youth - and Mark Cuban that ring.

No matter what, I'll remember Game 162 and Game 6. Two magical nights of the 2011 season. I'll remember Albert Pujols' Game 3 as one of the greatest offensive performances in World Series history before he electrified Los Angeles coming to the Angels. 

The Dodgers had to deal with the end of the Frank McCourt era and his divorce from his wife. This season was supposed to be a downer of low expectations but I was able to see two young players I watched from the start develop into stars. Thank you Matt Kemp and Clayton "Cy Young Prince" Kershaw for saving this season. 

Television watched me fall in love again with Treme and Boardwalk Empire. Boardwalk ended on a shocking note while I enjoyed seeing the slice of New Orleans through the eyes of my favorite musicians and Treme folk. I enjoyed getting into Modern Family and peeking at Happy Endings but I really didn’t have too many new shows that I enjoyed.

The last season of Entourage was a mixed bag to some but I liked it. To me, it showed that everyone on that show had to grow up and realize what mattered. The fairy tale ending felt a bit much but I liked seeing Ari Gold brought to his knees and a reminder that Vince is at his core, a loyal friend that Drama, E and Turtle benefit from. I always saw Entourage as a show about not just Hollywood, but about friendship and relationships. Even Ari with Lloyd showed that as much as Ari crapped on his assistant, he needed him in more ways than he thought.

Moviewise, this was a pretty weak year filled with plenty of sequels and unimaginative superhero plots. I only saw a few films and my favorite was Midnight in Paris, a Woody Allen nostalgia trip that showed the glamour and danger of nostalgia as well as teaching people to appreciate the present.

I realized this year, Hollywood showed the essence of what it made attractive. Imagination, creativity, uniqueness, adding something extra to the product. As usual, the later films of the year brought that in time for Oscar bait (Hugo for one, looks like that from the surprising touch of Scorsese) but it seems like everyone is waiting for the greatness to emerge in 2012.

That said, I enjoyed crossing a few films off my list. Die Hard, Dog Day Afternoon.

Troy Davis became a big story because we watched the justice system kill a man who potentially was innocent. Reasonable doubt wasn’t enough to prevent a man from being executed. I’ll remember how angry I felt and how sad I was that night. I’ll remember how many folks rallied together and remember that the justice system is set up against certain folks so I have to remain vigilant.

Rest in Peace to the many we lost. A new year means remembering those who didn’t make it this far and we all know somebody who unfortunately got called home. Let’s honor their memory however you see fit. Play a song, watch a movie, just keep living.

I’ll have more to say when I officially cap my thoughts on this year but I can’t say how much I appreciated my blog this year as change came.  I’ll end this with 10 of my favorite posts of the year.

http://virgogumbo.blogspot.com/2011/01/huck-finn-and-slave-jim-dangerous.html - The problem with censoring the past (Jan)

Tribute to Bill Russell http://virgogumbo.blogspot.com/2011/02/black-history-month-bill-russell.html

Writing on LCD Soundsystem http://virgogumbo.blogspot.com/2011/03/electric-relaxation-lcd-soundsystem-all.html (This became one of my most popular blogs and I’m grateful for that)

Reminding Folks the World Won’t End when Man says it http://virgogumbo.blogspot.com/2011/05/its-end-of-worldno-its-not.html

Celebrating White Heroes of the Struggle http://virgogumbo.blogspot.com/2011/02/black-history-month-celebrating-white.html

A Eulogy for Troy Davis and Part 2 http://virgogumbo.blogspot.com/2011/09/eulogy-for-troy-davis-lament-for-broken.html

Frankenstein http://virgogumbo.blogspot.com/2011/06/genius-of-frankenstein-and-why-its.html

Sharing Grief http://virgogumbo.blogspot.com/2011/07/grief-share-in-it-understand-it-but.html

How I became a Sports Fan http://virgogumbo.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-i-became-sports-fan.html

Destroying Herman Cain http://virgogumbo.blogspot.com/2011/11/breaking-down-herman-cain-and-why-he_04.html

Breaking Down Herman Cain and Why He Bothers Me

I’ve waited a while to write this because I’ve tried to study Herman Cain’s moves closely. I didn’t want to seem like I was hating on a Black conservative just on principle. But I now I think I can safely say that Cain’s campaign is one big joke.

Honestly my beef with Cain isn’t his race. It’s another one of these business folks who think they can buy their way into the White House and run it like the corporation they’ve built up. Throughout history, business-minded Presidents scared me because they tend to be pro-business, pro-super rich and less-worker/middle class. Considering there’s more of us than CEOs and business owners, it’s a lose-lose for most of us.

Also businessmen who think they can be politicians usually have zero clue how the game is played. William Randolph Hearst bought his way into the House of Reps but unsuccessfully tried to do so in the Senate and the NY Governor’s seat. The best way to the Presidency is through political experience and when you don’t have it, you have the embarrassing spectacle of Arnold Schwarzenegger as your governor.

Anyways, Cain sounded reasonable when I saw a GOP debate. I usually ignore most Black conservatives because unlike Condoleeza Rice, Colin Powell or JC Watts, they don’t sound reasonable and just sound like another conservative. Like Chuck D said, every brother ain’t a brother.

Yet the more Cain spoke, the more I was troubled. He sounded snappy and witty. He had a Southern flair to him yet he didn’t have any plan for being president. He was opposed to Occupy Wall Street and gave a typical wealthy response to folks who are struggling and opposed to big banks.

“ Don’t blame Wall Street. Don’t blame the big banks. If you don’t have a job and you’re not rich, blame yourself.”

There’s some truth in there but Cain forgot two things. 1) People don’t like to hear the harsh truth about themselves. 2) A leader has to be sympathetic to what his people are saying. That sounded unbelievably detached and what’d you expect from a man with a self-made fortune.

Point No. 1 isn’t his fault, it’s true for most situations. Yet Point No. 2 is important. It 1) forgets that a lot of people inherit wealth or are in great circumstances to attain it instead of build it solely on their own (something Tim Wise points out here in detail) 2) forgets that most people don’t want to be rich, just live comfortably and meet basic needs, 3) shows that he’s willing to point fingers instead of come up with compromise. Consider how Barack Obama addressed it by saying people are frustrated.

(Cain also forgot that we are in the midst of a recession where plenty of hardworking people aren’t finding jobs easily, not just people who want handouts.)

I tried to read up on his 9-9-9 economic plan and my lack of knowledge on these matters kept me from understanding it. I know an accountant came up with it, not an economist. It seems like a decent plan but I yield my views to this CNN non-partisan study on it

I also don’t appreciate how Cain has treated the Black vote. He wants to be seen as a Black candidate and claims he can get the Black vote but he has yet to target the Black vote. He has been offered opportunities to speak to Black America but he has refused. At least Michael Steele as chairman of the Republican National Convention reached out several times to spark dialogue. It shows me Cain wants to be close but not all the way.

What’s made it worse now is that Cain seems like he’s more interested in the spotlight than being a legit candidate. He has flipflopped on several positions due to pressure and now he’s poorly handling these sexual harassment cases that have come back to haunt him. His jokes n

Not to mention that his foreign policy knowledge is as sharp as a dull pencil. You cannot expect to be President in this globalized era and not know the world around you. You see that President Obama has had to spend most of his first term achieving foreign policy victories as opposed to domestic ones. To be isolated from the world to only focus on jobs here is a nice idea but an impossible reality. A President must do both.  

But what makes this worse? Cain has started singing on the microphone. And more worse? Negro Spirituals!!! Every Black leader who strived to be accepted as a man of dignity who avoided those stereotypes. Yet imagine my shock to see Cain do this at all of places, the National Press Club, in reference to his situations.

This is the last straw. I am offended as a person of color that a presidential candidate would dare singon his own. Where is the dignity in calmly handling it with poise and moving on. No, you have to sing??!!!!! And not a song that everyone sings together, you’re singing on your own. Like something Uncle Ruckus warned about in a Boondocks episode.

(I'm also a man of faith mind you. And yet, I find this disturbing on that level. If you sing, sing with dignity. He comes off as if he's using his faith to hide his faults instead of share them. Similar to Eddie Long's 1st sermon after his scandal broke)

Imagine if Obama did that in 2007/2008 or if Michael Steele did that when he won the RNC nomination. Eyes would have rolled and I would’ve said Lord have mercy, can we not sing for everything! Bad enough, McDonald’s has been showing us singing for our supper in their commercials.

Herman Cain is the dangerous type of Black person. He says and does things that White people want to hear and won’t say because it would sound different. He’s safe because he’s wealthy and fits the conservative narrative. People will point to him and say ridiculous things like Ann Coulter did and think they are cool.

He’s the type of Black candidate people want to prop up because he’s the anti-Obama. He’s in the category of Ward Connerly and Black conservatives who say the stuff about the race but say it to the mainstream instead of to us. It might be truth but you have to consider your audience and the danger in spreading that philosophy.

You have to worry about someone who has the support of Coulter, Rush Limbaugh and that ilk. Somebody who calls their sexual harassment claims a liberal smear job instead of handling it with dignity and rising above it is a scapegoat instead of a problem solver.

20 years after Clarence Thomas, we have Herman Cain. A flavor of the month who’s a witty gentleman, appears sincere in parts, fits a narrative, but unfit to be President unless he proves he’s more than charm and buzz words.

He’s still doing speaking engagements and appears to be in love with the spotlight than trying to prove his credentials as a leader qualified for one of the most important jobs in the world. He’s nothing more than a token figure who isn’t showing much reason to see him as anything but another candidate.

(Cain is also close to the rich Koch Brothers, the same folks who have been linked to funding the Tea Party and made me question who's running that show. For the record, the Koch Bros. have also donated to Mitt Romney's campaign.)

This is not a critique of Cain’s success, his background and selfmade endeavors. It is a critique of his campaign and how he embodies everything wrong with reactionary politics, an idea that you can just copy a success with a clone who lacks the soul of the original. I criticized the Obama campaign initially because I felt he was too inexperienced as a junior senator to be President.

Herman Cain not only doesn’t have my vote, I hope he goes back to his life before politics because here, he’s a fish out of water that everyone will enjoy for a spell before they throw him back with the others.