Top 10 Mainstream Media News Stories of 2006

The year 2006 was a busy one indeed. It seemed like the news cycles ran the complete gamut from the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to the Democratic victory in the November midterm elections, and from the nuclear ambitions of Kim Jong-Il and the ruling clerics in Iran, we were treated to the best and worst society has to offer. In this article I present my selections for top news stories from the past year. They are in no particular order and are simply a sampling of what I found to be the major news items in 2006.

1. Midterm Elections: The American public spoke up this past November and booted longtime incumbents from office in what could only be called a Democratic rout in the midterm elections. Of course, I think the elections were more a repudiation of Republican scandal, out-of-control government, and dissatisfaction with the war in Iraq than an endorsement of the Democratic Party's agenda. But I guess intelligent people can debate that topic in due course.

2. War in Iraq: At the close of 2006 the war in Iraq had lasted about three years longer than most people expected. Americans had grown accustomed to what were referred to as "Nintendo Wars," where television audiences were treated to smart bombs conducting precision strikes that resembled your kid's video games. The country was not prepared for a drawn out insurgency with mounting American casualties and no end in sight.

3. Congressional Scandal: It seemed like every time I flipped on a cable news show that I was bearing witness to yet another congressional misdeed. Scandals were never in short supply with Duke Cunningham sentenced to prison, William Jefferson investigated by the FBI for having $90,000 of alleged bribe money in his freezer, Mark Foley and Tom Delay forced to resign, and the list goes on. We can only hope that 2007 will be a better year, but I fear that hope is misplaced.