This is a segment that has been shamelessly ripped off from Keith Olbermann’s Countdown on MSNBC. I will document the week’s dirtiest, scummiest, creepiest – in short, worst – people in the news. Use the comment thread to post some nominations of your own.

On a side note, I'd like to apologize for the long break I've taken from posting. But I've got some extra tidbits today and I'm posting a day early to make up for it. There, not you can't get angry at me. And now, without further ado…

Worst Person in the World!

This week's runner up (aka, "Worse" person in the world), is William Roderick of Reedsport, Oregon. Roderick has been charged with assault, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of methamphetamine and marijuana after shooting a snorkeler in the face. The snorkeler, John William Cheesman, is doing well after 8 hours of surgery. Why, you might ask, would somebody shoot a random snorkeler in the face? Good question. According to the AP: "Roderick told deputies he thought Cheesman was a nutria swimming in the Smith River near Reedsport, about 90 miles southwest of Eugene, and shot him with a .22-caliber rifle."

A nutria? Apparently, Roderick mistook the unfortunate snorkeler for one of these:


Okay, well, now we understand where those drug charges came from...

But moving now to international affairs,

This week’s winner is Australian Prime Minister John Howard! On Sunday, the conservative PM said in a television interview that he disagreed with Illinois Senator and Presidential candidate Barack Obama's plan for Iraq. In typical conservative fashion, Howard was understated and reasonable:

"I think that will just encourage those who want to completely destabilize and destroy Iraq, and create chaos and a victory for the terrorists to hang on and hope for an Obama victory...If I were running al Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008 and be praying as many times as possible for a victory, not only for Obama but also for the Democrats."

Classy.

Obama's campaign pulled no punches in their response, describing Howard's comments as a mischaracterization of Obama's Iraq plan. They added,

"If Prime Minister Howard truly believes what he says, perhaps his country should find its way to contribute more than just 1,400 troops so some American troops can come home. It's easy to talk tough when it's not your country or your troops making the sacrifices."

Nicely done, Obama camp.

Disclaimer: Although this post contains praise of Barack Obama, I am not currently in the employ of his campaign or any youth-based, Obama-focused organization. As many posters on this blog post about their "choice" (read: employer) for 2008, I felt that perhaps the unaffiliateds should instead be posting disclaimers. That way, at least someone is. :)

Well, that's it for now. See you next week, when we once again find the Worst Person in the World!

In the meantime, everybody, keep peaceful.

And whatever you do, take care of your shoes.

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Quick post today, everybody, in light of finals. Also, I'm going to be a bit more serious than normal. This is an issue that has been touched on briefly, but this article really hit home for me:

"Despite being diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder and rated 70 percent disabled by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Damian Fernandez has been called back to duty and told to prepare for another deployment to Iraq.

Two weeks ago, Fernandez, who was discharged from active duty in the Army last year and was working to settle back into civilian life, abruptly received orders to report to Fort Benning, Ga., on Jan. 14.

When the FedEx letter from the Army arrived Nov. 28, he calmly told his mother and girlfriend, "I got my orders," staring hard at them with vacant eyes.

That night, he snapped. He told his girlfriend, Riella Darko, that he wanted to die and asked her to take him to the emergency room of St. Mary's Hospital, where he was placed on a suicide watch. He has since been transferred to a locked ward in the Northampton VA Medical Center in Massachusetts.

His callback orders have not yet been rescinded."

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I don't know who, exactly, is to blame for this. Rumsfeld, probably, for insisting on using a light force (see: Plan of Attack or State of Denial). Bush, maybe, for starting this mess in the first place. I don't know, but whoever's fault this is:

That is the worst person in the world.

At least this week.

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Here is a segment that has been shamelessly ripped off from Keith Olbermann’s Countdown on MSNBC. I will document the week’s dirtiest, scummiest, creepiest – in short, worst – people in the news. Use the comment thread to post some nominations of your own.

And now, without further ado…

Worst Person in the World!

Our runner up this week is Bishop Bonifes Adoyo of Kenya. Thought the War on Science was only happening in the US? Not so. Bishop Adoyo is demanding that Kenya’s National Museum relegate Richard Leakey’s collection of early hominid fossils to a back room for religious reasons. Leakey, a former director of the museum, is a world famous archaeologist, conservationist, and paleontologist.

Said Adoyo, “The Christian community here is very uncomfortable that Leakey and his group want their theories presented as fact…Our doctrine is not that we evolved from apes, and we have grave concerns that the museum wants to enhance the prominence of something presented as fact which is just one theory.”

Charming stuff, isn't it? Just a matter of time until they start talking about Intelligent Design, I imagine.

But…

Our winner this week is a Democrat! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Senator Joseph Robinette Biden is this week’s Worst Person in the World for remarks he made at a campaign stop in South Carolina. Deciding to play to the “southerners” - or at least his stereotyped idea of them - Biden decided that some slavery jokes were in order:

“The senator…pounced on a member’s announcement that the club would hold its annual Christmas party at the state Department of Archives and History where members could view the original copy of the state’s Articles of Secession.

Biden asked, “Where else could I go to a Rotary Club where (for a) Christmas party the highlight is looking at the Articles?”

Biden was on a roll.

Delaware, he noted, was a “slave state that fought beside the North. That’s only because we couldn’t figure out how to get to the South. There were a couple of states in the way.”

The crowd loved it."

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Hey Joe, tell Trent Lott we said hello.

Well, that’s all for this week. Join us next Monday for your weekly dose of mild outrage. In the meantime, everybody, keep peaceful, .

and whatever you do, take care of your shoes.

read more...

Here is a segment that has been shamelessly ripped off from Keith Olbermann’s Countdown on MSNBC. I will document the week’s dirtiest, scummiest, creepiest – in short, worst – people in the news. Use the comment thread to post some nominations of your own.

And now, without further ado…

Worst Person in the World!

This week, our runner up is Colonel Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, who caused a diplomatic incident in Nigeria when he arrived in the airport with 200 heavily armed guards (diplomatic missions are allowed only eight pistols). When his guards were not allowed to enter, Gaddaffi stormed off and threatened to walk the 25 miles to the capital to complain. After a several hour stand-off, the Libyans agreed to leave their excess weapons on the plane and were allowed to proceed to the capital.

Oh, those silly dictators!

Our winner this week, in tribute to the man whose routine I have shamelessly stolen, is none other than Bill O'Reilly himself. O'Reilly recently said that Vermont should be forced out of the Union for electing Bernie Sanders to the Senate.

Media Matters has the video.

Bill, I think we'll be seeing more of you in the future. Somehow, I feel it's inevitable.

In the meantime, everybody, keep peaceful.

And whatever you do, take care of your shoes.

read more...