No Runny Eggs

Welcome to the 5th and final day of the NRE 2011 Awards. Today, we name our people of the year. As a review, here is the rest of the schedule:

– Jackass of the Year, 1/3
– Thank You for Existing, 1/4
– Dumbest Thing Said, 1/5
– News Story of the Year, yesterday

For historical sake, here’s the 2009 and 2010 nominees for Person of the Year. Now, on with this past year’s nominees:

Paul Ryan (from realdebate) – While Washington D.C. regulars offer band-aids and kick the can down the road one man offers actual solutions instead of rhetoric. Time after time that man is Paul Ryan. The left hates him and his own party doesn’t understand him but Paul Ryan continues to articulate the issues in a clear, concise fashion. Why is this the exception instead of the norm?

Scott Walker (from BadgerBlogger) – Governor Walker’s steadfast support of common sense changes that were needed to save Wisconsin from its self, even in the face of the vitriol heaped upon him by teachers and other public employees and their unions, makes him, my Person of the Year. Honorable mention goes to the Republican legislators that have had the courage to follow our Governor.

Steve Jobs (from Shoebox) – I think one could argue that not since Thomas Edison has a single individual had a greater influence on how we work and play over the past 30 years. Computers, software, movies, music, communications are amongst the industries where Jobs had significant influence and caused or led major change. Some might argue that Jobs himself wasn’t the creative spark like Edison but rather a catalyst that unleashed creative talent in others. Either way, Jobs was transformative and should have been Time’s person of the year as well.

Jenni Lake (from Kevin Fischer) – She stopped her cancer treatments o avoid aborting her pregnancy. She died 12 days after she gave birth to her son. Selflessly, courageously, she chose her baby’s life over her own. Jenni Lake was 17.

Dan Kapanke (from steveegg) – As Patrick pointed out, Scott Walker couldn’t change the dynamic of the taxpayer-to-public-employee relationship, or fix the damage done to the state finances, without the Republican legislature. Kapanke was from the most-liberal of the seats held by Republicans to start the year – indeed, his home was targeted for vandalism when Assembly Bill 11, what was ultimately to become Act 10, was introduced. He had to know that it was quite possible that, once the talk of recalling state Senators began, that he would lose his seat. He went forward anyway, not backing away from his votes in the recall election that ultimately cost him his Senate seat.

Welcome to Day 4 of the NRE 2011 Awards. Today, we focus on the biggest news story of the past year. As a review/preview, here’s the rest of the schedule:

– Jackass of the Year, 1/3
– Thank You for Existing, 1/4
– Dumbest Thing Said, yesterday
– Person of the Year, tomorrow

For historical sake, here’s the 2009 and 2010 nominees for News Story of the Year. Now, on with this past year’s nominees:

The killing of Osama Bin Laden (from realdebate) – Obama got one thing right, he gave the right order.

“The Empire Strikes Back”, or “Unionistas, Occupiers, Democrats Unite, Create Chaos” (from steveegg) – It all started when Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R) first lived up to his campaign promise to balance the budget not on the backs of the taxpayers. The unionistas, who had grown fat and powerful over the last couple of decades, screamed bloody murder and unleashed the template for the wider Occupy movement.

Meanwhile, the pitched fit the Senate Democrats threw by fleeing for 6 weeks in, ultimately, a failed attempt to protect the golden pigs was, sadly, rewarded with two of the three pickups they needed to wrest control of the Senate from the duly-elected Republicans, and they’re back for another bite of overturning the watershed 2010 election. In other states, such as Ohio, they were more successful.

Operation Fast and Furious (from Phineas) – This wasn’t one story, but a series of revelations over the course of 2011 about a monumentally stupid law-enforcement operation that supplied thousands of guns to Mexican drug cartels (by coercing legitimate US gun dealers into breaking the law), with no capability of or recovering them until they were found at crime scenes. As a result, over 200 Mexican soldiers, civilians, and federal agents are dead, as is US Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, killed by cartel gunmen in Arizona with an OF&F firearm. It has exposed incompetent and probably criminal behavior at the DoJ and its agencies, and has the potential to be the biggest story of 2012, too.

The dysfunctional GOP Presidential field (from Shoebox) – After Barack Obama has done nearly everything he could, short of putting the Whitehouse keys under the front mat, to cause his eviction from the Whitehouse, the GOP fields what is arguably the most dysfunctional group of candidates ever seen.

In a year where GOP voters are looking for some level of, let’s call it “purity” on issues related to spending, government size/influence on our lives or social issues, we get a rag tag bunch, of which none of the leaders can put the whole package together. To make matters worse, the folks who may have some ability in the purity category, have shown themselves to be either stark raving mad or having the presentation skills of a third grader.

Following the 2010 elections, most conservatives entered 2011 enthusiastic and optimistic about the 2012 Presidential elections. As we leave 2011, I dare say most conservatives are at best concerned and at worst, pessimistic about the chances of sending Obama back to Chicago in 2013.

Scott Walker and legislative Republicans produce a balanced budget that erases a $3.6 billion deficit without raising taxes. (from Kevin Fischer) – The budget also provides much-needed property tax relief in Tax Hell, USA.

The Green Bay Packers win the Super Bowl! (from BadgerBlogger) I fully expect to repost this next year too.

Welcome to Day 3 of the NRE 2011 Awards. Today, we focus on the dumbest thing unleashed into the public consciousness. As a review/preview, here’s the rest of the schedule:

– Jackass of the Year, 1/3
– Thank You for Existing, yesterday
– News Story of the Year, tomorrow
– Person of the Year, 1/7

For historical sake, here’s the 2009 and 2010 nominees for Dumbest Thing Said. Now, on with this past year’s nominees:

“We know our decision to split our services has upset many of our subscribers which we don’t take lightly, but we believe this split will help us make our services better for subscribers and shareholders for years to come,” Netflix letter to shareholders on 9/15/11 (from Shoebox) – Netflix thought that by sheer force of its brand it could pass through a 60% price increase, make its product more difficult to use for its subscribers and experience only minimal blow back from its customer base. In the same letter noted above, Netflix thought that the result of their actions would cost them approximately 1 million of its 25 million customers. A loss of 4% of its customers but a price increase of up to 60% on the 96% remaining sure sounded like a financial home run. The problem is, that’s not how it worked. The blowback was so severe from the implementation of the change that Netflix not only back tracked on the product split, it also back tracked on the price increase. The net result is no new revenue for Netflix and as of early December, already 800K fewer customers.

Yes, I know this isn’t a political quote however it exemplifies a problem that not only Netflix has/had but that we see throughout politics. Just look at one example such as Obamacare and see how Big Government behaves just like Big Netflix i.e. jamming things down our throats. The only difference is that in the case of Netflix, consumers have the option to tell Netflix to “pound sand” and Netflix has the option to respond…oops, mea culpa. When was the last time you remember Big Government saying “oops, we screwed up and we’ll change it back?”

“Here is your pink slip!”, Miles Kristan throwing a pink slip at Robin Vos at the Racine County Lincoln Day Dinner (from realdebate) – Vos auctioned the garment off at my suggestion to raise money for the party. That same pink slip was later sold on E-Bay to raise money for Scott Walker & Robin Vos.

“No one is scrutinizing Hu Jintao’s words in Tahrir Square,” unnamed Obama administration official quoted by the New York Times (from steveegg) – This perfectly illustrates the fecklessness of the Obama administration. This was offered up by an official trying to defend Barack Obama’s desire to be the leader of a Communist country in the middle of the Egypt portion of Arab Spring. No explanation is required, or possible.

“That is not true,” said by DNC Chair and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz went told that unemployment had gone up sharply under President Obama. (from Phineas) – Oh, really?

“I look forward to bringing new blood to the Supreme Court and focusing my energy on the important work Wisconsin residents elect Supreme Court justices to do.”
–JoAnne Kloppenburg, from her “victory” speech… Before she lost.
(From BadgerBlogger)

(From Kevin Fischer) There were so many, but I managed to narrow the field down to three:

1) “What kind of person celebrates death? It’s amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We’ve only heard one side…” Rashard Mendenhall of the Pittsburgh Steelers on the night Osama bin Laden was killed

2) “Do you think this Constitution-loving is getting out of hand?” Joy Behar

3) “I just want to tell you a little bit about what it’s like to not have Planned Parenthood. You have to add water to the formula to make it stretch. You have to give your kids Ramen noodles at the end of the month to fill up their little bellies so they won’t cry.” Gwen Moore

Welcome to Day 2 of the NRE 2011 Awards. Today, we honor the person/institution that made the past year at least somewhat tolerable. As a review/preview, here’s the rest of the schedule:

– Jackass of the Year, yesterday
– Dumbest Thing Said, tomorrow
– News Story of the Year, 1/6
– Person of the Year, 1/7

For historical sake, here’s the 2009 and 2010 nominees for Thank You for Existing. Now, on with this past year’s nominees:

The Occupiers (from realdebate) – Never have so many whined so loudly about something so undefined. Anarchy fails again. Special kudos to the left wing media that ignored the abhorrent behavior of this human refuse while at the same time denigrating the TEA party.

Marco Rubio (from Phineas) – One of the few politicians to truly understand America and her potential. His speeches, values, and life story are inspiring, and he reminds us of the best of our immigrant tradition. I think there’s little doubt that he will be president, one day.

The SEALs who killed Osama bin Laden (from steveegg) – I still remember September 11, 2001 like it was yesterday. The SEALs who went after and ultimately killed the man responsible for ordering the attacks on that day shouldn’t have to pay for drinks the rest of their lives. They undertook a very difficult (for diplomatic reasons) mission, adapted when one of the helicopters failed, and achieved their objective with extreme prejudice.

Our brave, courageous military (from Kevin Fischer) – From the mouthes of babes, or in this case, 8-year-old Cody Jackson, comes wisdom and patriotism beyond his years.

Our men and women in uniform (from Shoebox) – From members of Seal Team 6 to the most recently enlisted individual, our country would not have the freedom it does without the sacrifices of these individuals and their families. The sad part is that after the sacrifice of nearly 4,500 US lives and countless more injuries, President Obama dishonored that sacrifice by allowing his own arrogance to give Iraq to Iran.

#Occupy (from Aaron) – The cluelessness of the left was exposed by #occupy. None of them knew what they were protesting. The just wanted to complain that their own lives suck because everyone else is rich.

Scott Walker (from BadgerBlogger) – Wisconsin should thank their lucky stars that a man of such uncommon common sense has taken the reigns of Wisconsin and brought fiscal sanity back to the Badger State. We were headed, full speed into the financial abyss that other states, like California and Illinois find themselves in, and Scott Walker has reversed direction, and I believe he will be a great governor for many years to come. Recall, indeed…

We here at No Runny Eggs have decided to make famous (or infamous as the case may be) some of the people and events that shaped the past year. Today, we start with the nominees for Jackass of the Year. We’ll each choose the person who we think was the biggest jackass in 2011. Some of us may agree, some of us may not. For historical sake, here are the 2009 and 2010 nominees for Jackass of the Year.

The rest of the NRE Awards schedule is:

• Thank You for Existing, which will be announced on 1/4.
• Dumbest Thing Said, which will be announced on 1/5.
• News Story of the Year, which will be announced on 1/6.
• Person of the Year, which will be announced on 1/7.

And the nominees are…

Miles Kristan (from steveegg) – If there’s a face for the Occupier/Unionista/Democrat Axis, Miles is it. He started off the year throwing a pink slip at Rep. Robin Vos, and his obsession with both female clothing and Vos only worsened from there. While he was wearing a pink dress, he harassed a MacIver News Service intern trying to film a protest he was a part of. A few months later, he proved he is a subject of the Kingdom of Dane rather than a resident of Wisconsin by pouring a beer on Vos’s head in a Madison bar.

Former Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY) (from Kevin Fischer) – To not select former NY Congressman Anthony Weiner would be hard, pun intended. The cocky, married Democrat engaged in several inappropriate relationships with six different women over three years, providing fodder for bloggers and comedians to this day and beyond.

His illicit behavior involved a pattern of sending inappropriate and at times explicit photos and messages to women he met over the Internet. He lied about it, then fessed up (“I take full responsibility for my action. The picture was of me, and I sent it”), but refused to exhibit the decency of resigning immediately. His lame defense was that he broke no laws.

Meagan Broussard, a 26-year-old single mother from Texas who provided dozens of photos, emails, Facebook messages and cell phone call logs that she claimed demonstrated an extremely sexually-charged relationship with Weiner said, “I thought for sure, ‘why would someone in that position be doing this?'”

No kidding. What a jackass.

The Obamas (from Shoebox) – Oh, I’m sure I could have thought about this more and come up with something more creative but why? It seems impossible that Barack Obama has not been purposely running for this award throughout the year. Let’s see….Lecturing the GOP on demagoguing, immediately followed by accusing them of scaring seniors regarding social security or, claiming that his administration, when it came to foreign policy and legislative accomplishments, his administration was probably 4th best of all time…even as he cedes Iraq and every other Middle Eastern country to the Mullahs in Iran.

Finally, it’s not only Barack; this is the first time this prize should go to a jackass duo. Michelle is equally a jackass. Note only Michelle’s African safari that cost over $400k and which she listed her daughters as “Senior Staff” to avoid having to pay for any part of the trip personally!

Now that I think about it, call the Obama’s jackasses give jackasses a bad name. When it comes down to it, this pair is clearly amongst the most self-entitled, out of touch persons ever to live in the Whitehouse. On that account, I would definitely put the Obamas in the top four administrations!

Madison Justice (from realdebate) – From Judge Sumi ignoring obvious conflicts of interest to old left-wing Shirley leaking a false story about Justice Prosser, the most biased D.A. in the state ignoring charges against left-wing nuts to the Capital Police Chief that ignored horrid behavior on his watch, the entire Dane County Judiciary has shown themselves to be leaning heavily on the left side of the scales of Lady Justice. If you are a liberal in Dane County you can get away with just about anything. (Can you give a parking ticket to a Segway?)

President Barack Obama (from Phineas) –  Prior to our military intervention in Libya, the president authorized the evacuation the evacuation of American citizens and their dependents from the war-torn country. There were three hitches, though. First, his administration rented a civilian ferry instead of sending the US Navy. (The British sent in the SAS to rescue their people.) Then, when people got to the designated evacuation point, they had to have been thrilled to discover it was an open pier, water on three sides, and no one there to protect them should any rebel or loyalist goon squads show up. Finally, they were expected to reimburse the United States for their evacuation. Yep, you want to get out of a war zone, cough up the dough. The protection of US citizens and their dependents overseas is one of the president’s jobs; indeed Jefferson went to war against the Tripolitanian (Libyan) pirates to protect American lives and property. For the way he handled his duties, I think Barack Obama richly deserves “Jackass of the Year.”

In case you missed the significane of the lack of posts, I’ve been out of the loop for a while. I even missed the start time of the NRE 2011 Awards, where the gang comes up with nominations in several categories. Just like the last 2 years, we’ll be naming our choices for:

– Jackass of the Year
– Thank You for Existing
– Dumbest Thing Said
– News Story of the Year
– Person of the Year

We’ll start out tomorrow with Jackass of the Year. Looking over what the rest of the gang sent in, there might be a surprise or two.