SC6's 2011 Year In Review

      Well, another year has come and gone... 2011 was another wild one, both for us and the country..  For us, we came into it in a steady a position as we had in years. We had our bills under control, were making decent money, and moved into a new apartment.  We were in much better shape than our country, but it appears that instead of the country catching up, we've been dragged down to it's level.  Let's review the big stories, and see how we got there...


January
     Two of the bigger stories were at the start of the year: The start of the Arab Spring in Egypt, and Gabrielle Giffords shooting in Arizona.  Egypt was the bigger story, becuase it's affected millions of lives.. We said goodbye to the DHS color coding risk system.. In the GOP, we got a new leader in Reince Preibus - so long Michael Steele!  Locally, Flotown got a new Chair with Bill Pickle.  For us, it snowed, snowed.... and then snowed some more. The apartment had a bad time too, when a water pipe froze, and flooded me out for a few days.  Blogwise, SC6 gave it's readers a couple treats, by introducing it's Civil War Rewind series, and letting you see Adele before everyone else...


February
    Kind of a slow month all around, mainly because Congress went on vacation without passing a budget - again!  Your tax return took a break as well, when the IRS announced they would hold returns for an additional 2 weeks.... The War on Unions took center stage in February in Ohio and Wisconsin.  As usual, both sides went too far, and we had to everyone out.  In football, the Packers returned to glory by beating the Steelers. Bobby still hasn't recovered... It also stopped snowing - finally!


March
      The Arab Spring marched west into Libya, where Moammar Qaddafi took on US-backed rebels.  The big story was the Japan Earthquake-Tsunami-Nuclear near meltdown at the Fukashima plant.  Luckily, it was less than it could have been.  It was slightly less than Charlie Sheen's meltdown.  Wonder if he's missing that $1.8 million per episode now.  Porn Star money runs out quick. Speaking of money, our friend Ken Ard came under ethics scrutiny for using campaign funds to reimburse various expenses.   We had our won problems, when we found out that Sam Adams seasonal White Ale was rationed - and it didn't taste quite as good as we remembered..


April
    The big story was our return to SC.  Too bad we spent the whole time cutting grass and moving my Dad.... The 2012 presidential race was still ice cold, but Donald Trump made it a bit interesting by flirting with running.  Bill Connor did decide to run, but it was so late, many questioned if he gave it much thought...Up here, a missing prostitute at a beach community started a massive police search - and they found 10 people! She wasn't one of them, but they eventually found her a quarter mile away... Haven't found the killer yet either. Those $100k cops are worth every penny!


May
    Like a shot out of nowhere, Osama bin Laden was killed - in Pakistan.  Lots of SC news, as the NLRB tries to block Boeing's 787 Dreamliner plant in Chucktown.. SCGOP elects Chad Connelly as it's new Chairman, but locally, city councilmen Buddy Brand and Glynn Willis get threatened by their own over a smoking ban vote.. We were still rolling along, as we were kinda dating 2 people at the same time. What could be better?  The Oprah Winfrey Show ended.  Life was good..


June
    Top story? One word: Weinergate.....  The presidential race sped up a lot... Sarah Palin did a nice job of teasing the GOP, but in the end, Caribou Barbie passed.  Newt Gingrich lost his entire staff, and was declared dead - or so we thought.  Joe Wilson flexed his GOP muscle - or tried - and endorsed Tim Pawlenty for 2012... More powerful were Carolina's arms and bats, as they won their second straight NCAA Baseball title.  The Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup... and we have no idea who won in the NBA.  OK, it was Dallas, but who cares?


July
      It was a month of highs and lows... We were peaking as we celebrated our birthday by watching Derek Jeter get hit Number 3000 - our first Yankee game in 31 years!  Michele Bachmann topped out as well, winning the Ames Straw Poll - and she hasn't done much since.  But the big winner was the Pee Dee, as it won the 7th Congressional District, finally getting out from under Jim Clyburn's grasp.  Plenty of losers though.. NASA ran it's last Space Shuttle mission, Amy Winehouse died, and the prosecution blew Casey Anthony's case so bad, she got off..


August
     Disasters abound... DC has a major earthquake, followed by Hurricane Irene.  Neither was too huge, but we did lose power for 3 days..   More lasting was the early implosion of Tim Pawlenty. In hindsight, maybe he should have hung around for his shot at Flavor of the Month... Meanwhile, I lose two teeth, buy a Harley, and start spending money like it's water.. Too bad there is no time or space to learn to drive the bike!  Almost as sad is our ability to forecast the Primaries then:  Iowa- Bachmann, Perry, Paul, Romney.  NH- Romney, Perry, Bachmann, Paul.  SC- Perry, Bachmann, Paul, Romney.  Nice call...


September
     Summer's over, and I am working my ass off: 12 hrs a day, 5-6 days a week... The campaigns go back to work too.  Rick Perry gets in, then suddenly forgets how to speak.  Perry falls, and Herman Cain 999's his way into the top tier.  Washington starts off the Fall Session by pushing budget cuts to a 12 person Hall of Shame - The 'Supercommittee'... Bill Clinton goes Vegan.


October
     Busy, busy, busy.. I finally come to SC, and this time, I see everyone I wanted to!  Nice trip.. Chris Christie flirts with running for President, but passes, and endorses Mitt Romney.  Florida suddenly tries to jump spots in line, and fucks up the entire Caucus/Primary schedule, moving everything up an entire month... The Occupy Wall Street/Michael Moore Fan Club movement starts..  Everything dies in October: Moammar Qaddafi, Steve Jobs, the NBA, and Obama's American Jobs Act. Three outta four ain't bad... But, we have a Cardinals' World Series win to celebrate, and Lindsay Lohan gets nude for Playboy - three years too late!  


November
     Two months before Iowa, and Herman Cain falls under the weight of a billion sexual harrassment charges. In his place, Newt Gingrich rises from the dead... Faced with an important job, the StuporCommittee dies without any budget cuts..  The only good news from DC is the Supreme Court accepting to rule on the validity of Obamacare. To us, sports dominated the news in November, as Tony Stewart breaks Jimmie Johnson's stranglehold of the NASCAR Nextel Cup, Penn State crumbles, Tebowing becomes all the rage.... and Carolina thumps Clemson in football.  Moye is still wearing black...


December
    The month starts off badly, as I get the pink slip from my job of the past 2 years from my new manager.  We decide South Carolina will be the best place for operations for 2012....  A more fortunate ending was the US troop presence in Iraq.  Kim Jong Il dies, and bipartisanism and common sense die in Congress, as they almost blow the Payroll Tax extension.  With Iowa weeks away, all torpedoes are aimed squarely on Newt Gingrich's side, and he drops, while Ron Paul and Rick Santorum move up. Thankfully, the year ends...


We have no idea where we will be , or what we will be doing by the end of 2012.  We thought the game plan was there, and we achieved what we set out to do... but others had different plans. At 43, it's a bad place to be, but we would like to be done with the car biz... It'll be interesting to see what happens. Whatever it is, you'll see it here....

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