A number of stories qualify as “top news” during 2011, and Bob McCarty Writes was on top of most of them.
THE ‘ARAB SPRING’
On Jan. 26, I blew it when I published a post speculating about anti-government protests in the Middle East were signs of the Tea Party Movement going global. Then, during the next five days, I questioned whether or not President Barack Obama should have the same internet “kill Switch” that was used to silence opposition in Egypt and followed that up by wondering if President Obama’s post-presidential ambitions stretched to Egypt.
On Feb. 2, I shared a David Donar video in which the online cartoonist likened protests on the streets of Cairo to shoes being tossed at Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Two weeks later, I focused attention on how President Obama was continuing his anti-Israel push via the United Nations.
Finally, I wrapped up my Middle East coverage by sharing how the turmoil in Libya brought back memories from my Air Force days.
DISASTER IN JAPAN
After reporting March 11 that a mega-quake had struck off the coast of Japan, I offered a same-day report about the federally-funded International Tsunami Information Center’s web site failing on the day of big quake.
During the days that followed, I shared details about Japan being on edge following an explosion at the Fukushima Nuclear Plant and highlighted news about U.S.S. Ronald Reagan aviators risking everything to help the Japanese.
OSAMA BIN LADEN’S DEATH
During the 10 days that followed my initial post about Osama Bin Laden’s death, I shared a half-dozen more posts, ranging from one that highlighted Donald Trump’s call for President Barack Obama to “Show Us The Body” to one asking the question, “Does Osama Bin Laden’s death matter?”
In addition, I revisited a filmmaker’s claim that he had found OBL and I went inside the minds of Obama administration officials.
Finally, I wondered out loud about the interrogation techniques used to provided actionable intelligence on Osama Bin Laden and highlighted Paul R. Hollrah’s questions surrounding the killing of Bin Laden.
‘OCCUPY WALL STREET’
For the most part, I’ve avoided giving the so-called “Occupy Wall Street” movement any attention. During the days leading up to Veterans Day, I made an exception when I used photos from the National Archives to note how some occupations are more worthwhile than others.
