The Big Picture –
By Glynn Wilson –

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the years roll by and print becomes ever less relevant — and this is supposed to be the year of gratitude — I am more grateful every year that I do not have to crank out more irrelevant and ridiculous news to fill the space around the ads in a print magazine or newspaper.

This leaves way more time to spend outside in nature with quality time to think, and time to write something of more consequence.

But there’s one funny guy left over from the era of print who is still writing his end of the year column. South Florida writer Dave Barry says, “the best thing we can say about 2022 is: It could have been worse.”

“For example, we could have had nuclear Armageddon,” he says.

Other positive developments in 2022, he says, include:

— Millions of Americans on social media realized — it took them a while, but they finally got there — that nobody wants to know how they did on “Wordle.”

— Best of all, the looming apocalyptic threat of catastrophic global climate change was finally eliminated thanks to the breakthrough discovery that the solution — it has been staring us in the face all this time — was to throw food at art.

Dave Barry’s 2022 Year in Review

There is no way I could be as funny as Dave Barry even if I tried, so for my year in review column every year, I look back at the New American Journal archives and pick something special from every month of the year to highlight and remember.

As we close out 2022 with a massive Bomb Cyclone of a cold winter storm that buried Buffalo New York in four feet of snow and even froze parts of the Gulf of Mexico all the way south to Mobile, Alabama, and Pensacola, Florida, I recall that we started 2022 with a Snowmageddon event that dumped 12 inches of snow in the campground just north of the nation’s capital in one week. At least it made for a photo op.

In February, as Russian dictator Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, the people there did not cave in. They took up arms to help their defense forces fight off the most unprecedented invasion in Europe in the past 80 years, and their efforts appeared to be working to slow the advance of Russian forces toward Kyiv, the capital city.

As the World Turns Toward Autocracy, A Chance to Turn it Around Toward Democracy

As the year 2022 was coming to an end, the war was still raging. But Ukraine seemed to be winning, and President Zelensky visited the White House and addressed a joint meeting of Congress.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Delivers Address to A Joint Meeting of Congress

In March, somehow we made it to the first day of Spring, and President Biden’s sherpa to shepherd the first African American woman through the Supreme Court confirmation process, former Alabama Senator Doug Jones, told us he was “excited to get this hearing started and feeling very good about confirmation.”

Somehow We Made It to the First Day of Spring 2022: Get Outside

In April, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson became the Supreme Court’s Serena Williams, the first African American woman to serve on the court just as Williams was the first Black woman to win major titles in professional tennis.

Justice Jackson’s Confirmation to the Supreme Court is a Major Turn in the Arc of History

Also in April, I delivered my first ranger program in a National Park Service park as a volunteer.

Ranger Program: Welcome to Washington

We also heard the first threat from Elon Musk about a potential hostile takeover of Twitter.

Elon Musk Makes Bid to Take Over Twitter: Why Should We Care?

In May, I published a piece in CheapRVLiving.com about camping and living the nomad life in the Eastern United States, then moved to the Catoctin Mountains for the spring, summer and fall.

Camping Out and Living the Nomadland Life in the Washington Capital Region

Meanwhile, the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, began a series of public hearings to bring the facts to light for the American people.

Trump’s Criminal Presidency Returns to Prime Time

And even before it was over, 74 percent of the American people said they believed Donald Trump — the former president being investigated on a number of fronts most notably for inciting an insurrection and leading a seditious conspiracy to overthrow democracy in the United States — was guilty of committing crimes. Sixty-six percent of U.S. voters, two-thirds of the population, say he should definitely be prosecuted.

Huge Majority of American Voters Say Trump Should Be Prosecuted for His Crimes

In July, Steve Bannon was found guilty as charged on two counts of contempt of Congress, for refusing to cooperate in the Capitol attack investigation by turning over documents and testifying under oath about what he knew in advance about the seditious conspiracy that led to the violent insurrection on January 6, 2021. He defied a legal subpoena to answer questions from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, trying to claim executive privilege, which did not wash in court.

Steve Bannon Found Guilty of Contempt of Congress for Refusing to Cooperate with the Capitol Attack Investigation

Also, science being of more consequence than politics, perhaps, images starting coming in from the James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful space observatory ever built.

It “offered a spectacular slide show of our previously invisible nascent cosmos”…

“Ancient galaxies carpeting the sky like jewels on black velvet. Fledgling stars shining out from deep within cumulus clouds of interstellar dust. Hints of water vapor in the atmosphere of a remote exoplanet.”

The event was called “a new vision of the universe” and “a view of the universe as it once appeared.”

Webb Telescope Reveals a New Vision of an Ancient Universe – But Will the Images Hold the Power to Change Us?

If so, it’s going to take awhile, for the conservative majority on the Supreme Court issued a series of rulings overturning decades of precedent on abortion, gun rights, the federal government’s ability to regulate pollution and the separation of church and state.

Supreme Court Dismantles Liberty, Rights and Freedoms, and Not Just for Women

Conservative Supreme Court Strikes Down Federal Power to Fight Global Warming and Climate Change

Trump Supreme Court Dismantles Wall of Separation Between Church and State

In August, NASA rolled out a plan to go back to the Moon to set up a base to launch a trip to Mars.

Artemis: We Are Going Back to the Moon, Onto Mars…

Then President Joe Biden triumphantly signed the signature Inflation Reduction Act in the State Dining Room of the White House, praising the legislation as among the most significant legislative achievements in the history of the country. The ambitious package of bills took direct aim at tackling global warming and climate change, while also lowering prescription drug prices which could reduce inflation, and imposed taxes on the profits of the largest corporations which will also help reduce the deficit.

“With this law, the American people won and the special interests lost,” Biden said. Saying his administration began amid “a dark time in America,” with coronavirus pandemic still raging, widespread unemployment and threats to democracy from the previous administration.

“And yet we’ve not wavered, we’ve not flinched and we’ve not given in,” Biden said. “Instead, we’re delivering results for the American people. We didn’t tear down. We built up. We didn’t look back. We look forward. And today … offers further proof that the soul of America is vibrant, the future of America is bright, and the promise of America is real.”

The House approved the $370 billion bill in a vote of 220-207, a week after the Senate narrowly passed it on a party-line vote, with Vice President Harris casting the tie-breaking vote.

President Biden Signs Historic Climate Legislation

After doing a lot of thinking in nature, I wrote a think piece on what humanity needs.

What Humanity Needs: A Shared Narrative for the 21st Century

And after doing quite a bit of research, in September I published a major news feature on wild, native brook trout, also called speckled trout.

“Poets sing of them. Anglers covet them. The fact that they still survive at all in this stressed out twenty-first century world all across their Appalachian range is a feat of conservation worthy of books and song. From the craggy peaks of North Georgia across the Blue Ridges and into Canada, the brook trout, also called speckled trout, have survived here in evolutionary stasis for 10,000 years since the last Ice Age.”

“This is really Appalachia’s mountain fish,” says Dr. Nathaniel Hitt with the U.S. Geological Survey, who I encountered this summer conducting research in one of Maryland’s cold water streams.

The Story of Wild, Native Brook Trout and Why They Are So Ecologically Important Like the Canary in the Coal Mine for Climate Change

Then I produced a related followup story on the real killer ending peoples’ lives.

The Real Killer: The Role of Stress in People’s Lives

Also in September, I began my coverage of public opinion leading up to the midterm elections of 2022.

Public Opinion and the 2022 Election: Could the Polls be Wrong Again?

In October, I made a trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and became worried that the fate of American democracy could once again rest on the shoulders of the good people of Pennsylvania, where it all began in Philadelphia and may well have been saved on a battlefield in Gettysburg.

“In some very real ways we are fighting another civil war for the soul of the country, which could determine the future direction of this nation for years, and it could all come down to a vote in a race for the United States Senate here,” I wrote.

Critical Pennsylvania Senate Race Tightens as Election Day Nears

I also wrote about the abortion scandal in Georgie, where Trump’s hand picked candidate, Herschel Walker, was stumbling in his attempt to challenge Senator Raphael Warnock.

Abortion Scandal in Georgia Takes a Toll on Herschel Walker’s Chances in Senate Race

Also in October, I hit a personal milestone, making it past the dreaded age of 64 to 65, and wrote about playing golf with Autumn color all around.

Happy Birthday: Living Beyond the Curse of 64

I also took a long hike in the mountains with friends, and tried my best to capture photos of fall color in the area.

Capturing Fall Foliage Pictures in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountain Park

In the first week of November, I accurately predicted the “Red Mirage” that ended up developing on Election Night, Nov. 8.

Expect a ‘Red Mirage’ On Election Night: Higher Early Voting Trend Favors Democrats in Midterm Elections

I was proud to report on and be a part of it when Maryland elected its first African American governor.

Maryland Elects Its First Black Governor, as Voting Problems Plague Some Key States

We all breathed a sign of relief when it was announced that the Democrats held the Senate with the win in Nevada.

Democrats Hold Power in the Senate With Win in Nevada

It was a disappointment when the Republicans did manage to win enough races in rural areas to take back the House.

Republicans Capture Control of the House but Fall Short of Midterm Expectations

Meanwhile it was announced that the population of the world reached eight billion people.

Global Population Reaches Eight Billion People: Is This Really Something to Celebrate?

Some of the leaders of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack were found guilty.

Oath Keepers Stewart Rhodes and Kelly Meggs Found Guilty of Seditious Conspiracy for Planning the Attack on the Capitol

And in December, Trump’s real estate company was found guilty in a massive tax fraud scheme.

Trump Real Estate Company Found Guilty in Tax Fraud Scheme

On a high note, Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock won re-election to the United States Senate over Republican former star fullback Herschel Walker, handing Democrats a 51st seat and a clear majority in the upper chamber and insurance against a slim majority by Republicans in the House.

Warnock Defeats Walker in Georgia Runoff – Democrats Take 51st Senate Seat

As the year was coming to a close around the holidays, tech billionaire Elon Musk took over as the top news maker from Trump for awhile.

A Faustian Bargain? Elon Musk’s Behavior Hints That His Time is Almost Up

But then the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol held its final public meeting on Monday afternoon, Dec. 19, 2022, ending a historic 18-month investigation with the approval of its final report. The committee voted unanimously to recommend criminal charges of inciting an insurrection, conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress to the U.S. Department of Justice against former President Donald J. Trump and his top allies, sending a powerful symbolic message to the country with the sincere purpose to prevent any threat to American democracy like this from ever happening again.

“That evidence has led to an overriding and straightforward conclusion: the central cause of Jan. 6th was one man, former President Donald Trump, who many others followed,” the report states. “None of the events of Jan. 6th would have happened without him.”

House Select Committee Unanimously Recommends Criminal Charges Against Donald Trump

What a way to end the year. Finally, after four years with Trump and his tweets screwing up our lives in so many ways, along with a global pandemic, it seemed that there might be a chance for justice in the world after all.

So I had to ask:

Will 2023 Be the Year Republicans Finally Abandon Trump?

With only four days to go, I hope I don’t have to add anything of consequence. I’m trying to take a few days off before we have to hit the ground running in 2023 on Monday, Jan. 2.

Happy New Year to you and yours.

Let’s hope the Year of the Water Rabbit will be an improvement over the Year of the Tiger. I’ll have another column about that in a few days.

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