Editor’s note: This commentary is by Bob Stannard of Manchester, an author, musician and former lobbyist.
Hello, faithful readers. Yes, another year is drawing to a close and it’s time for my take on 2020. Covid-19 was and still is the No. 1 issue of 2020. Let’s get started, shall we?
January 2: The president orders the assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. The world began preparing for World War III.
January 7: The World Health Organization was alerted that a virus was on the loose in China. They announce it to the world on January 9.
January 8: Megan Markel and Prince Harry, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, abandon their roles and move to America. “The Crown” is a Netflix hit.
January 16: Donald J. Trump is only the third president to ever be impeached.
January 18: Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar informs President Trump of the virus.
January 20: Kobe Bryant and his daughter died in a plane crash. Basketball will never be the same.
February 5: Despite evidence of wrongdoing, the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate acquits the president
February 7: The president tells journalist Bob Woodward that the virus is deadly and airborne.
February 18: The Boys Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy over many allegations of sexual abuse.
February 24: Harvey Weinstein was convicted of sexual abuse.
February 28: Joe Biden wins the Democratic primaries. Trump is nervous.
March 18: Tom Hanks diagnosed with Covid-19. NBA cancels its season.
March 11: Former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin appeared on “The Masked Singer.
March 20: Americans go wild over Netflix’ “The Tiger King” starring Joe Exotic, a gun-toting, lunatic conman, currently in prison for plotting the murder of his competitor.
April 8: Sen. Bernie Sanders abandons his candidacy for the president of the United States.
April 18: In Nova Scotia, a man dons a police uniform and guns down 16 people, making this the worst mass shooting in Canada’s history.
April 23: Donald Trump suggests injecting bleach to combat Covid-19
April 29: The Pentagon released three separate videos of UFOs. Americans were still more impressed with “The Tiger King,” proving UFOs to be old hat.
May 4: Just in the nick of time, Murder Hornets arrive in America. Joe Exotic wants to train them to do tricks — like kill his competitor.
May 6: Unarmed Ahmaud Arbery is shot and killed by police.
May 25: George Floyd was murdered by police. 200 Black Americans were killed by police in 2020. More than 10 times the number of people killed in the Nova Scotia record mass killing.
May 29: The CDC now says we should all wear face masks. Trump says he won’t.
June 6: Black Lives Matter protests over the murder of George Floyd go worldwide.
June 15: Trump said, “If we didn’t test so much, the virus rates would decline.”
June 17: Trump said, “The virus is just going to fade away.”
June 27: A Biblical size swarm of locusts invades Delhi, India.
July 2: Jeffrey Epstein’s right-hand person, Ghislaine Maxwell, is arrested. Prince Andrew and Alan Dershowitz develop heart palpitations.
July 7: Disagreeing with Dr. Anthony Fauci, Trump says, “We’re in a very good place” regarding the virus.
July 19: “We have the lowest mortality rate” — Donald Trump. We didn’t.
August 4: Regarding Covid-19, Trump says, “It is what it is.” It sure is. Actually, it’s much more than that.
August 12: Joe Biden chooses Kamala Harris his running mate, the first Black woman nominated for vice president.
August 14: U.S. Postal Service Commissioner Louis DeJoy testifies to “necessary budget cuts.” It’s clear he’s undermining the USPS.
August 16: 170,000 Americans are dead from Covid-19, but don’t worry. All is well.
September 6: A milestone of 100 consecutive days of BLM protests.
September 7: Offering the perfect metaphor for the Trump campaign, a boat sinks at the Trump Boat Parade.
September 18: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies.
September 29: Trump and Biden have the first presidential debate. Trump exposes his inner bully. The debate is a train wreck.
October: This month saw much more global unrest, with protests breaking out in Nigeria, Poland, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan. People are angry.
October Surprise turns out to be Covid-19 and Trump’s dismal response to it.
November 3: Joe Biden defeats Donald Trump to become the 46th president of the United States. The nation, and the world, breathe a sigh of relief. Trump refuses to accept defeat.
December: Trump has lost nearly 60 court cases in his coup attempt to overthrow the elections.
December 15: America learns of Russia’s largest, most aggressive cyber attack in history. Donald J. Trump is silent.
December 17: 58-year-old Kevin Kresen slid off the road in the biggest storm of the year and then was buried under 4 feet of snow by the snowplow, where he remained for 10 hours before being rescued. The roof of the Greater Binghamton Sports Complex in New York collapses from 40 inches of snow.
December 20: As of this writing, 313,000 Americans have died from a virus that we were told was just going to fade away — unlike the person who said that. That same man has not yet said one word on the Russian cyber attack.
To my dear readers: Yes it sure has been a crazy year; crazier than most. I want to thank you all for caring enough to read my work. For those of you who don’t; that’s OK, here’s hoping you’ll enjoy a different perspective.
My heartfelt thanks to the Bennington Banner who got me into this bimonthly opinion column back in 2004 and to all the other publications that publish my work.
Finally, I’ll leave you with this quote: “I’ve got to admit it’s getting better (better) A little better all the time (it can’t get no worse)” — The Beatles.
Merry Christmas. Happy New Year. Stay safe. Social distance. Wear a mask and hopefully this will all be over by this time next year.
