2010 Ebbie Awards

...sort of patterned after Keith Olbermann's "Worst Persons In The World" segment on his nightly show...


Second Runner-Up -

Unnamed personnel from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

From Treehugger.com -

Photo: U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Northeast Region

To many people, Jim Hart and Khalil Abusakran are heroes. When the two men from Maryland, saw a deer stranded in the icy waters of the Patapsco River, they did what few others would dare. With an inflatable boat, the duo ventured out and rescued the animal before it perished in the frozen stream. But, after they and the deer returned to shore, it wasn't a hero's reception that awaited them -- instead, the two men were slapped with fines for not having life-jackets aboard their vessel.

I freely admit, I'm not sure I would have done the same thing - venturing out into freezing water to save a deer - I'm just not that brave.  Or foolish (hopefully :) ).  However, the act of the the officers of the MD Department of Natural Resources, fining these two men for doing something that the DNR officers refused to do, merits Christmas Eve visits from the Ghosts of Bambi Past, Present, and Future (and I don't mean the kind of "Bambi" who brings her own stripper pole, either :) ).


First Runner-Up -

Arizona Senator John McCain.

From Politico's Daily Beast -

Railing against Don't Ask Don't Tell, shooting down an immigration bill he once sponsored, pushing his own changes to START—the tougher John McCain who emerged in the primaries may be here to stay.


{snip}

Conversations with friends, advisers, and analysts reveal McCain as a man still angry at his 2008 presidential loss, fueling his desire to remain in the spotlight and an important part of the debate, even on issues where he is out of step with the majority of Americans.

For taking his anger out on gay and lesbian servicemembers, 9/11 first responders, foreign policy, DREAMers, and still doing nothing to actually represent Arizona in D.C., McCain earns a visit from the Ghosts of Mavericks Past.

Obviously, the Maverick is already gone, so there's no Present or Future Mavericks around to make some visits.



And the "winner" is...

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer

There was consideration of making this a group award, also giving it to Russell Pearce and the rest of the Republican caucus in the legislature.  Most of the wave of nastiness emanating from West Washington these days gets its start in the R caucus room, but Brewer is the one who has taken it national and has ridden the wave all the way to a full term on the 9th floor.

Latest example (and there are many examples - could have gone with imagined headless bodies in the desert, actual bodies due to BrewerCare, her ties to private prison lobbyists), blaming the tepid health care reform package passed by Congress earlier this year for her inability to balance Arizona's budget for the last two years -

Heading into a new year with a new Legislature and a new Congress, the primary area of budget focus for Arizona will be our need for action by the federal government on "Obamacare."


If our state budget is to be balanced, it will require action by Congress and the White House. They must provide flexibility to states so we have the ability to create sustainable Medicaid programs.

For her shameless leadership of the hate brigade, Jan's Christmas Eve visitors will be the ghosts of Cecilia Esquer (a long-time civil rights champion and Chicana activist), Mark Price (the first victim to succumb to her cutting off AHCCCS benefits to transplant patients) and Gary and Linda Haas (the couple murdered in New Mexico by escapees from one of the private prisons championed by Brewer and her advisers/lobbyists).

Later...