My New Year’s Burn List

I don’t, as a rule, make New Year’s resolutions. It’s a fine exercise if you want to do it, but the surest way to start the New Year off on the wrong foot is to assign oneself a litany of self-improvement goals that inevitably are not reached. Then it’s an entire year of guilt and self-loathing for continuing to be the overweight, beer-drinking, smoking, couch potato you’ve always been.

Where resolutions are concerned, Attaturk has it about right: make a bunch of resolutions you have no intention of keeping but are so nasty, you’re better off for it anyway.

My list is a little different. I list all of the things from 2007 that I don’t want to carry into 2008. Then I go outside, light a match to it and watch the sucker burn.

There will be personal things on my list (which I won't post here), but also things about the world and this country I think we’d be better off without. It's my list so I get to make the rules. And nothing is too big or too trivial to make my burn list.

In no particular order, but as they come to mind, is my Burn List (I’m still working on it, so if you have suggestions, feel free to add them in comments):

1. Iraq War
2. Inaction on global climate change
3. Inaction on impeachment
4. Spineless Democrats
5. Torture of prisoners
6. Religious extremism
7. Bush Administration partisan deceit
8. Homelessness in Nashville
9. Hunger in Nashville
10. Mall/school shootings
11. Violence against women and children
12. Intolerance
13. Right-wing hate radio (buh-bye Michael Savage!)
14. Celebrity news as real news
15. Nashville Predators’ poor game performance
16. Mainstream media ineptitude
17. Global AIDs/HIV
18. Animal torture
19. People speeding down my street
20. Bill O'Reilly (I really do wish he'd just go away)
21. Those stupid GEICO advertisements
22. Phone calls from telemarketers