Our ten most-read posts of 2011 on AMERICAblog

As the new year rings in, it's ten-best time the world over. And here at AMERICAblog we have a pretty good list of our own. These are the posts that have garnered the most interest in the previous 12 months.

In a very real sense, these posts are your favorites, chosen by your clicks. In some cases, you considered the topic important; in others, it was the news itself.

Either way, here they are. AMERICAblog's top ten posts, selected by your clicks. Thanks for each of those!  Here's the list, starting with the most-read post of 2011.

1. Did Romney adopt KKK slogan: "Keep America American"?

By far our most-read post in 2011. This sparked quite a controversy, with follow-ups here — after Chris Matthews apologized to Romney for MSNBC simply mentioning the controversy. And here — where the New York Times weighs in.

There were others as well; amazing the convulsions this caused. Good catch by John.

2. Mubarak ordered Tiananmen-style massacre of demonstrators, Army refused

One of my favorites, not for what it did, but for what it didn't do.  It got over 1000 retweets and nearly 4000 Facebook likes. It's sourced to respected, long-time Middle East reporter Robert Fisk. And yet the underlying story failed utterly to attract any mainstream media coverage at all. As near as I could find, not one big-media outlet picked up Fisk's explosive discovery.

And the underlying story is explosive. It was Mubarak's Tiananmen Square moment, the hour that Mubarak lost control of his army at the enlisted-man level. (For a discussion of aspects of the Egyptian army, try this, "A portrait of the Egyptian military"; my best shot at teasing out those layers.)

For my money, this was the biggest non-story story of the year, and a complete surprise to me how it played out.

3. OMG Cops pepper-spray UC Davis students, point blank in face, who are just sitting there doing nothing

Another very big deal, this time domestic, with many follow-ups. But I think one reminder is all you need; perhaps this one:


There's more at the link, including video, but that image is iconic and pretty much tells the tale. Occupy indeed.

4. Deaf, disabled senior citizen on bicycle deemed threat by police, tased to death for not hearing cop

This is one of many "I can't believe they did that; I can't believe America allows this" stories that got sprinkled through the year. Maybe the UC Davis pepper-spray story (above) made us more aware of gratuitous police violence. Hope so.

And this post allowed me space for one of my favorite rants — on rule of America by Rightwing Nation, and rule of Rightwing Nation by "Where's my daddy?"

I've never met a country more in need of Daddy's protection than Right Wing Nation, the country that writes the rules for how America is governed.

There's more of that at the link, if you care, along with a simply amazing story. Rest in peace, Mr. Anthony.

5. Att Gen asks Americans to report IP violations on their neighbors but not 1 prosecution of Wall Street

A beautiful catch by Chris in Paris:

Not a single prosecution against Wall Street for the collapse of 2008 but [Attorney General Holder] wants people to give a damn about IP violations for Hollywood and the recording industry

This is a prelude to all the PIPA and SOPA stories you're going to be reading as the billionaire-begging season resumes. Stay seriously tuned.

6. Law firm, that held Halloween party mocking people who lost their homes, to close

Myrddin wrote this one, but it comes straight from Karma Central. Kind of like if the guy who invented "Bumvertising" ended up drinking with the Sterno crowd. Great catch.

7. Next time...

This is a Scott Olsen OWS story, one of many. It's short; I'll let you click and read Daily Kos' David Waldman's immortal tweet. Heart-breaking.

8. Iceland arrests failed bank CEO and top trader; America arrests those who protest bank CEOs, traders

Another great catch by Chris in Paris.

Iceland's special prosecutor has taken Larus Welding, the former head of the failed Glitnir Bank, into custody, Reuters reports.

Glitnir Bank was the first of the top three Icelandic commercial banks to fail in 2008.

As Chris points out, only in not-America.

9. BREAKING: Obama to address nation soon. Rumors that Bin Laden is dead

Without question, one of the top stories of the year. Lots of updates, and quite a few questions.

10. US cable providers eye 'usage-based' billing

Another great find from Chris in Paris. Lots of good info in this post. For example:

Here's another industry that is bloated and worthless, thanks to the political class. As expensive as things can be here in Europe, people choke when they hear how much Americans pay for internet/cable/phone services. At home in Paris, our fiber optic 100MB connection also includes free phone calls to 100 countries around the world, plus 140 TV channels for €33.90 per month (around US$45). No limits. Other countries in Europe have faster speeds and better prices.

And more. As John says, "Fleecing the customers." Indeed.

All in all, a rough year for news, and not likely to get better. But interesting, very interesting.

We learned a lot last year. If nothing else, we learned how to Occupy, and for me, that made the year very sweet indeed.

More of that please?

GP