NEWS
DECEMBER 02 - JANUARY 26
BEST AND WORST POLITICAL MOMENTS OF THE YEAR
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE IMPEACHMENT
was true, so it was either completely made up or hasn’t been released to the public yet. 3. Whatever Kanye is doing (KanyeWest ad) It’s true, Kanye West WAS on the ballot in several states for the 2020 election, Colorado included. And in order to give the impression of a true politician, Kanye did release a political ad. The advertisement, especially in the beginning, kind of looked like a parody of every single stereotypical political ad ever made at once, complete with the rippling American flag in the background. Kanye’s speech really didn’t make any sense. It seemed very generic and bland, with a lot of talk about America prospering together and the country’s future. When he talked about how his presidency would make this happen, the discussion was based solely on faith and reli- gion. Basing a campaign on religion and fame alone is dangerous as is, but at least Kanye’s commitment is somewhat admirable, in a laughable, ridiculous way. lawsuits and attempts to delegiti- mize the security of the election, the President and Vice-President Elects have already shared a promising agenda for their first 100 days in office, including coronavirus task- forces and vaccination distribution plans, rejoining the WHO and stepping up to fight climate change, adjusting immigration legislation to aid millions of illegal immigrants in gaining citizenship, and of course, the fall of Trump Wall (before it’s even finished). limited, but important flipside none- the-less, 2020 hosted a few positive moments politically as well. Chiefly among them, the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris—bringing on the nation’s first Asian-American, African-American, and first woman Vice President, as well as the first president with dementia—just kid- ding (there’s probably been dozens of those). Despite the barrage of failed
by Tommy Clift
2 020 has been, for lack of better phrasing, a hell of a year. And the straw that broke the dump- ster fire camel’s back was of course, election season. And one thing everyone can agree on, regardless of political stance, is how ANNOYING political ads can get. Youtube is no longer an escape from the news. Hulu becomes a platform for poli- ticians. In honor of election season finally being over, here are some of the worst political ads of 2020. Disclaimer: these ads are in no par- ticular order and are not based off of personal political biases. 1. “Is Joe Biden Bernie Sanders’ trojan horse?” (Donald Trump ad) First of all, there are more con- vincing and better-looking ads made by college students who didn’t get into the graphic design program. With a sticker of Biden’s face poorly copied and pasted onto a Trojan 2 020 has been an eventful year—to put it mildly. Within only a few short weeks, bush- fires were ravaging the south coast of Australia, the Iranian General Qasem Soleimani was killed in an airstrike, Harry and Meghan Markle renounced their royal titles, Trump’s impeachment trial was beginning, and the World Health Organization had been notified of what was then called 2019-nCoV. It seems the first twenty days were a foreboding omen of the year to come. Putting aside the manifesto of world events scouring across the last 11 months, The United States alone had enough political moments to fill the library of Alexandria—although, with 2020’s record-breaking fires, that wouldn’t have work out too well. Much of this has been thanks to a WHOSE PR PEOPLE THOUGHT OF THESE IDEAS? by Taylor “Kat” Goodman A s the year closes, many people will look back and point out the best and the worst events that have taken place. However, the worst event that has occurred in 2020 is COVID-19. This sudden shift caused people to build internal anger with strangers and with themselves. With this global pandemic, people are forced to stay inside. They cannot go out to eat, see friends and family, or continue their daily routines. It is frustrating to stay inside because many individuals get stuck in their thoughts. If people want to go outside, they have to stay at least six feet apart. Humans are social COVID-19 PANDEMIC REALLY GOT THE WORLD DOWN by Sang “Wyatt” Dao
LORRAINE KELLY
QUARTER-LIFE CRISIS Here’s to 2020
Photo Courtesy of Jonathan Simcoe via Unsplash
AMERICAN POLITICS HAVE BEEN ONE CRAZY RIDE THIS YEAR.
M y last column was kind of all doom and gloom. If we’re being honest, though, I think this entire year has just been doom and gloom. It’s fair to feel like that, valid, whatever. Sure, there were some normal months early on, but it went real downhill, real fast. This year, I feel like I’ve grown a lot. When I moved back here two years ago, I was a walk- ing mental breakdown. I had maybe two friends left, I had zero idea what I was doing with my life, and I was quite literally claw- ing my way out of a mental health crisis beyond belief. I got okay again, then got bad again, then 2020 hit outta nowhere. Honest- ly, this year started with me being violently hungover after six too many tequila shots. As I lay dy- ing on my cold bathroom floor, I remember thinking, “God, I hope this isn’t a sign about how this year will go.” In part, it was, un- fortunately. But I also remember thinking, “I hope this year makes me have some kind of purpose again.” And it did. Despite the pandemic, de- spite the trauma it has brought, despite the overwhelming doom and gloom, I feel okay. Maybe not on the surface (surface me is over-caffeinated, overwhelmed, and overworked), but deep down, I know I’m okay. This year has brought me a really amazing partner (and personal live-in chef), two jobs that make me feel really good (!!!!), and I’ve most- ly figured out what I want to do with my life. Who knows if all of that will stay that way, given the unpredictability of the world. But for now, I feel okay. A few years ago, someone I look up to a lot said to me, “There is great ferocity in leaving a place to find your purpose.” I think about that every day; that’s why I came back to Denver in the first place. And dammit, I think I’m really, really close to finding it. Closer than I’ve ever been.
certain Twitter -happy, tax-evading, soon-to-be-former president. And indeed, a grandmajority of the coun- try’s worst political moments have been signed off by his little hands, all because of the year’s worst political moment—Donald Trump’s acquittal. Had Trump been fully impeached and removed from office,
his suggestion to treat the virus with bleach injections, his rallies that have been linked to over 700 coro- navirus deaths, his regression on 125 environmental and climate policies might have never happened (though who knows what Pence would’ve done in his place). But to at last turn to the more
WORST POL I T I CAL ADS FROM THE 2020 ELECT I ON
Photo Courtesy of Joe Biden’s Facebook Page
WHERE’ S HE GOIN’ ?
horse, the commercial tries to warn viewers that Biden is an attack sent by Bernie Sanders himself (???) disguised as a gift. Assuming that’s what the ad is conveying, since that’s the story of the trojan horse. While the commercial was short and sweet, it was also confusing, ugly, and brought Bernie Sanders into the mix for no apparent reason. 2. “Joe Biden Gets ‘Vetted” (Joe Biden ad)
The “how do you do, fellow kids” trope has reached another level. In this ad, former Vice President Joe Biden zooms around in an admit- tedly cool 1967 Chevrolette Corvette Stingray.The car may be cool, but the rest of the commercial was relatively uninformative, and some would argue misleading. Biden mentions the car company GM may be making an all-electric Corvette. There was no evidence to be found that this claim
IN A SHOCKING TWI ST , COV ID- 19 I S THE WORST EVENT OF 2020
the US has the most cases compared to every other country. If people were able to isolate themselves, the lock- down would go away, and healthcare workers wouldn’t be working until exhaustion. Then there are people who don’t believe in the virus when the whole world is affected by it. The politics involved makes this event more difficult to handle. Peo- ple bring in their political stance on this issue when it involves science. Instead of bringing personal beliefs to this event, people should approach it with a scientific view. Everybody is frustrated with this event, but there is no need to point fingers at political groups like the left and the right. The year 2020 has had lots of events. However, the pandemic is the worst due to it affecting all individuals internationally.
Photo Illustration: John Mazzetta · The Sentry
ANYONE REMEMBER THE OUTDOORS?
creatures, and avoiding contact with others cause some people to go into badmental states. Another reason why COVID-19 was the worst event of the year has been the people who don’t believe in the pandemic. As healthcare workers
are risking their lives for patients who contracted the disease, people are ignoring the social distancing rules. Instead of enduring a difficult lockdown order, people selfishly go out and spread the disease. According to Johns Hopkins’ COVID- 19 map,
Got comments on the news section? Questions? Pitches? Send me an email at lorraine.kelly@ucdenver.edu
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