2009.. Outta Here!!!

Tonight at Midnight, the year 2009 (and the '00's decade for that matter) will be kicked to the curb! It has been a tumultuous year for many marred by economic and emotional tragedies.. The New Year allows for a rebirth, a fresh start and a new beginning..

2009 began as the potential for this with Lady Gaga singing atop the charts to "Just Dance" and the inaugeration of the 44th President of the U.S., BARACK H. OBAMA whose campaign and inaugueration speech gave wary Americans a "hopeful" message.. 2009 ended with Scottish singer SUSAN BOYLE and the question of whether and the dreams of "Hope" and "Change" giving way to cynicism and frustration..

Americans continued to seek escape in the World of the BIG screen with "Marley & Me" topping the Box Office in the first week of 2009 to the latest 3D film dubbed "REVOLUTIONARY" by some, "Avatar".. 3D movies took on a fresher, more advanced life this year with family films such as "Monsters Vs. Aliens"and "UP" delivering in the visual arena.. Films based on children's books such as "Where the Wild Things Are" and "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" were also viable at the Box Office in 2009.. From "Twilight: New Moon" to the campy "Bruno" to Tarantino's "Inglorious Bastards" and the geeky "Star Trek", there was something at the Box Office for EVERYONE in 2009..

2009 saw an unbelievable number of Celebrity deaths.. From "Golden Girl" and "Maude" star BEATRICE ARTHUR to "Clueless" actress BRITTANY MURPHY.. There was also long time CBS anchor WALTER CRONKITE and musician DJ AM.. There was BBC "Are You Being Served?" actress MOLLIE SUGDEN, guitar legend LES PAUL and "Streets of San Francisco" actor KARL MALDEN.. Let's not forget SENATOR and 1996 VP candidate JACK KEMP, country singer DAN SEALS, "Tonight Show" sidekick & "Publisher's Clearinghouse" spokesman, ED MCMAHON, 80's icon PATRICK SWAYZE,Massachussetts Sen. TED KENNEDY, comedian DOM DELUISE, "Kung Fu" and "Kill Bill" actor DAVID CARRADINE and "Charlie's Angel" FARRAH FAWCETT.. The death of legendary musician and entertainer MICHAEL JACKSON on June 25th, dominated the news over the summer.. A tribute film "This is It" was released and topped the Box office in the late summer..

The political climate in 2009 continued to be divisive with the Inaugeration of the First black President in U.S. History, BARACK H OBAMA as the 44th U.S. President.. One of the cornerstone's of Obama's campaign was the issue of Health Care Reform.. The issue heated up over the summer with representatives holding Town Hall meetings that were disrupted by protests.. Conservatives saw a leader in talk radio and FOX News host GLENN BECK who formed the "9/12 Project" and was a vocal organizer of the many "TEA PARTY" PROTESTS that took place throughout the country.. Wars continued to rage in Iraq and Afghanistan with the President making a vow to send MORE troops to Afghanistan and pledging an 18 month deadline to begin withdrawl.. The NOBEL PRIZE COMMITTEE also awarded President OBAMA with a Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo earlier this year.. Speaking of heroes, CAPT. CHESLEY "SULLY" SULLENBERGER landed a plane on the Hudson River and averted what could have been a HUGE tragedy..

The National Unemployment rate reached 10% in 2009 with many states seeing 12% Unemployment, this despite a massive Stimulus plan passed in February dubbed the "American Reinvestment and Recovery Act", the plan vowed to create or save millions of jobs.. WALL ST. however rallied with the rise of the STOCK MARKET as the Dow hit above 10,000 points back in October.. H1N1 Panic ensued over late summer and at the beginning of cold and flu season.. The question was: Will there be enough vaccine? Meanwhile, SONYA SOTOMAYOR was confirmed to the Supreme Court replacing Justice DAVID SOUTER who retired in the Spring.. Former Republican VP Candidate SARAH PALIN wrote a Best Seller, BEN BERNANKE got reappointed to the Fed, TWITTER and FACEBOOK became household names and election turmoil hit IRAN..

SCANDAL, SCANDAL, SCANDAL!!! erupted this year from TIGER WOODS to South Carolina Governor MARK SANFORD who stated that he was hiking on the "APPALACHIAN TRAIL" when in fact he was visiting his Argentinian mistress.. Let us not forget Sen. JOE WILSON who shouted "You Lie!" during the President's televised address on Health Care Reform or DAVID LETTERMAN's confession of sleeping with staffers.. "BALLOON BOY" and THE WHITE HOUSE CRASHERS also made a name for themselves this year.. JOHN & KATE are no more and BERNIE MADOFF was pronounced "BERNIE MADE-OFF" for a good reason..

2009 in music continued to see the emergence of Electro-Pop with artists like PASSION PIT, METRIC and OWL CITY emerging.. THE BLACK EYED PEAS topped the Pop Chart for the year 2009 with "I Gotta Feeling".. LADY GAGA-Mania swept the country, TAYLOR SWIFT was overshadowed by KANYE (who President Obama unofficially dubbed a "jackass") at the VMA's but conquored the Pop Chart with her hits "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me".. Let us not forget "American Idol" ADAM LAMBERT who gave a controversial performence at the AMA's this year or SCOTTISH singer SUSAN BOYLE..

2009 may be remembered as the year of great difficulty, tragedy and loss for many or the year of tabloid distractions (OctoMom, Levi Johnson) and revolutionary films to others.. Tonight at Midnight we mark the end of this blip on the radar of life and of the 21st Century, here's to a happy, safe, prosperous and healthy New Year 2010 to you and yours..

PEACE!

I'm No Gun Nut or an NRA member BUT...

It appears that last night in the midst of a bill signing frenzy, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill that would require retail establishments to not only restrict sales of handgun ammunition to behind the counter displays but would ALSO require those purchasing ammo to be fingerprinted and register in a data base that will be monitored by law enforcement and other government agencies (law will be effective February 1, 2011)

While I'm not a "locked and loaded" gun happy type, there is no arguing that this law sets a dangerous precedent and chips away at the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.. There is no argument that guns in the hands of the wrong people, kill people.. Unfortunately though, the people that utilize guns for that purpose tend to buy their weapons and ammo on the black market, meaning that a Gang member or Mexican drug smuggler wouldn't be going into a Wal-Mart and buying ammunition for their guns.. They would buy from organized crime syndicates or underground gun shows..

Again, California lawmakers have missed the mark on this bill and the cost is the personal freedoms of law-abiding gun owners that use these to protect their homes or their families.. While I object to many uses for firearms, I do believe in the right to bear arms for personal protection against a violent criminal who would commit an act such as burglary, rape or even worse to one's person or loved ones..

During cold and flu season, I am reminded of California's "Nanny State" laws that curtail freedoms but do nothing to solve the actual problem.. The example is the law that requires Photo I.D. to purchase cold and flu medication in order to prevent folks from making "do it yourself" meth labs.. With meth still flowing freely through much of California's Central Valley (and in other parts of the state), one has to wonder, what exactly has been resolved here? And the other question (one that was brought up during the Prop 8 debate regarding Gay Marriage but would still apply here) is: If we are allowed to infringe upon gun owner's rights WHO will be next?