I Googled the top 10 news stories for 2008 to find something to write about. With all the press that the top stories are getting (the election, high gas prices, the financial crises, low gas prices, Britney Spears…) some otherwise huge news items have been completely missed. For example, Number 10 on the list was the Russia-Georgia war.
Here I am just a few miles outside of Atlanta and we hardly even talk about our war with Russia. I do recall hearing some low flying aircraft from time to time last year and there was that awkward moment between President Bush and Putin at the Olympics, but I don’t remember seeing any Russian paratroopers filling the morning sky like they did in Red Dawn. Nor do I recall hearing Patrick Swayze’s battle cry of “WOLVERINES”!
It’s amazing how such a huge story could get placed on the back burner just because everyone’s 401(k) is tanking. Speaking of tanks, I didn’t see any of those either. Maybe the Russians came by boat and attacked Savannah. Wait… the story says that they attacked South Ossetia. Never heard of it… must be on the Georgia/Alabama boarder. I’ve been saying that boarder has been way too lax for years. Bama fans just come and go as they please.
I live northeast of Atlanta, so my guess is that the tanks rolled across western GA then got stuck in traffic on I-285 (what I would give to be driving a tank on I-285). This story took place during the gas shortages this summer, so I can only assume that once they got stuck on 285 they ran out of fuel and diesel was nowhere to be found. With nothing but 24 hour coverage of the Olympics to watch, they probably became engrossed in the Michael Phelps story. By the time he won his eighth gold medal, I am sure they were enamored by the rich commentary of Bob Costas and lost interest in their attack plans. Thank you, Michael. If you are ever passing our way, I’ll cook you up a few dozen pancakes.
